The Bloody Rose
by Aileen Dickinson
Summary: You never know who you could find in the least expected place. Saved from her personal hell and brought to the wizarding world, she will embrace her pureblood origins and rise above all. This charismatic princess will create chaos for some while changing the status quo. FOC, Voldemort, Malfoys, Dumbledore bashing and many surprises!
1. Chapter 1

**Here I am again with a new FanFiction. This time the main character will be a Female OC, I will warn you immediately. The idea came to me all of a sudden after months without the smallest spark of inspiration where I was fearing I would not write anymore. If you know the feeling of staring at a blank page you know what I'm talking about. After it came back though, I wrote so much that my fingers hurt and I was seeing double. It will be a pretty long story I can already tell you; I'm writing chapter 68 and I still don't see the end approaching.**

 **Anyway, if you are even bothering to read this I can tell you that you will find a lot of Malfoys, Voldemort and Dumbledore bashing. It will be a FOC/Blaise pairing and there will be a lot of original material added with a few surprises here and there.**

 **What else I can say? Enjoy your read and I hope this little intro will interest you enough to continue on with the following chapters.**

* * *

If there was one thing that Lucius Malfoy hated more than muggles, it was having to interact with them. They were rude, plebeian and all over unpleasant. The simple fact that they could not use magic made them automatically inferior to wizards in his eyes, they were basically on par with house elves, or maybe even less, elves could use their own brand of magic after all.

And just like that, muggles were useful only for menial work.

This was the only reason he lowered himself to suffer their presence, work. Or as he preferred to think about it, _gold_.

After becoming the Head of the Family he decided to invest in the muggle world and start a business of his own taking advantage of the stupid muggles. So while they worked themselves to the bones, he filled his vaults with gold. What had been surprising was his Lord's support to his endeavors, especially since part of his gold went to support their cause..

His word had been along the likes of ' _as we work towards their eradication ,we might as well make full use of them in the meantime'._

And so he had continued, even after his Lord's fall eight years prior.

High girlish giggling cut off his musings. From the corner of his eye he could see a group of women staring at him. He knew that he always made an impression whenever he went. He was handsome with his aristocratic features, silky blond hair and dressed in high quality clothes. He could make women and men alike swoon by just passing. And mind.. that was him being modest.

He ignored the group and continued on his way, yearning for a dark alley to apparate away. He had promised his beautiful wife that he would bring her some of those fine muggle chocolates she had fallen in love with.

Inferior as they were, he had to admit muggles were useful and inventive for some things, especially when it got him on his wife's good graces. How he loved Narcissa's sweet rewards!

He was already looking forward to savoring his wife's luscious chocolate tasting lips when an invisible force slammed into him and almost made him stumble to the ground.

He gasped feeling like someone punched him in the stomach, his eyes darting all over trying to locate the source of the massive wave of magic. Whomever had emitted it must be immensely powerful. The last time he had felt something of that magnitude his Lord had been still alive, and pretty angry too, it was both awe inspiring and intimidating.

He took a deep breath and concentrated, releasing his magic in small waves trying to track back the source, something that required great control and skill that very few were able to perform. Given the density and power of the magic it was not a hard thing to do in this instance, but that also left him perturbed. A trained wizard would never release his magic in such a way in the muggle world, or at least he would make sure it was impossible to trace back. It must be a minor then. Maybe a student home for the holidays.. but it was impossible for a muggleborn to be this powerful! Absolutely preposterous!

His feet took him in front of a dilapidated building. It was pretty big with a vast courtyard and full of children running around. Lucius was honestly surprised that someone deemed the place habitable at all, what the hell were those muggles thinking?

He slowly walked inside the gates, still tracking the source, wondering why there were so many children, could it be a school? If so, he almost felt sorry for them, imagine the abysmal education they were getting.

A polite cough from his left halted his advance. A petite old woman was looking at him with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.

"How may I help you sir?"

"What is this place?" he asked, not bothering with being polite. He wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery and he was already late for lunch. Narcissa would surely yell at him, especially since by now the chocolate shop was surely closed.

The woman blinked "This is Wool's Orphanage."

"I see.." he drawled, already going back to his search.

"Excuse me, Mr. but we do not allow adults to walk around as they please here" the small matron said stepping in front of him "If you are looking into adopting one of our children I will be glad to show you around after you've shown me the forms"

"Forms?"

"The papers from the Child Services deeming you a fit parent"

"Of course, how silly of me.. I have them just here" he assured her removing something from the inside pocket of his coat "Confundus"

A lazy wave of his wand later the woman was following him like a lost puppy, prattling on and on about some brat or other, while he kept searching for his target.

He made his way inside the building despite his reluctance, once the courtyard didn't show any result, he kept telling himself that he could disapparate at the first sign of collapse of the structure.

"What did you DO?" a voice screeched from behind a closed door "You're a freak! Satan's spawn!"

Narrowing his eyes, he hurried forward recognizing that the source of the magic was in fact behind that door.

He practically burst the door off its hinges in his haste to enter the room, stopping all the screaming and movement inside.

What he saw as he surveilled his surroundings made his blood boil in his veins. That… _That_.. was the reason he despised muggles. They feared and slowly destroyed everything that was different from them and didn't understand. The day his Lord came back to life and obliterated all of them could not come soon enough.

Inside the dirty and dusty room there were two female figures. One was an orphanage worker, she looked as old as the one still following him, around sixty or so, in her hands was a bloodied and splintered cane, her hair were ruffled and escaping from the confined of the tight bun on her head. But her eyes... Her eyes were bloodshot and bright, making her look possessed in her anger.

At her feet there was that he was looking for.

A small girl lay curled on the cracked and dirty flood boards. She looked no older than six and was covered in bruises, wounds and blood.

Lucius took a deep stuttering breath, trying to reign in all the anger and bloodlust he was currently feeling.

"You" he ordered to the first woman he met "Go and fetch me this girl's folder and all her belongings"

"Just what do you think you are doing? You're not allowed in here…"

"Silence!"

The second woman shut up immediately, losing color all of a sudden. In his anger Lucius couldn't help but leak some of his own restless magic, making the woman cower in fear.

He was so focused on not losing it and blowing up all the place that he failed to notice the child's reaction.

Her eyes lit up with recognition and a small gasp left her lips.

"You're like me.." She whispered.

It was only because of the deafening silence following his shout that he was able to hear the awed statement.

"That I am, little one." He answered her with a nod of his head.

"Another one?! Freaks the lot of you! You should burn in hell!" the woman started screaming again at the knowledge that the handsome man was just like that demonic child.

"You are the one that will burn in hell, woman!" Lucius stated, his voice cutting through her like a knife through butter "You call us monsters, while you are the one who hit and abused such a young child! You disgust me"

The first woman came back just then handling him a folder of papers and a small trash bag with what he supposed were the girl's belongings.

He took them with a sneer before taking hold of his wand once again.

"I think I will take care of you personally…" He murmured a spell pointing towards the second woman before speaking "You are going to feel all the pain you inflicted on this young child, I think it will be a fitting punishment. And to make sure you don't make the same mistakes again… Imperio… Once the curse has run his course you are going to kill yourself"

The child looked at the woman amazed, what had first been a look of horror became a sort of glazed stare. Like the man was mind controlling her. It intrigued her and she wondered if she would be able to replicate such a feat.

"As for you" he addressed the second one "Obliviate"

Pocketing his wand one again he walked slowly to the child, making sure not to scare her.

"I would like to take you with me, to our world, little one"

"Our world?" she whispered, her voice hoarse and broken from the screaming and what he assumed was dehydration.

"The wizarding world. I will explain more later, but now we really need to leave before these two filthy muggles wake up"

"All right"

She tried to get up, but her shaking limbs refused to hold her light weight.

"Here, let me carry you" Lucius offered, his heart hurting at the sight of his small child

"Thank you sir" she said wrapping her bony arms around his neck, while his arms supported her body.

"This will be uncomfortable, but it is the quickest way to get to our destination. Just close your eyes and take a deep breath" he advised. Then with a sharp turn they were gone. Just in time for the second woman to start screaming in pain from invisible lashes and hits.

* * *

 **Well? What do you think of this little prologue? Who is the little girl Lucius saved? What will happen to her?**

 **Next chapter coming tomorrow!**


	2. Chapter 2

Lucius reappeared in the foyer of his manor with the small child in his arms clutching him for dear life.

"Master Lucius is back. Mistress has been waiting" one of the elves said.

"I am well aware. Tell Mistress Narcissa to join me in the infirmary. Keep Draco in his room entertained" he ordered before stalking up the stairs to the house small infirmary room.

There was very little use for it these times, but a long time agothe manor had been full with many members of the Malfoy family and in more recent years it had been used to cure death eaters after the raids. It was still kept sparkling clean and well stocked though. Lucius did not like to be caught unprepared for any situation.

He delicately deposited the girl on the first bed in front of him and waited for his wife to come. Unfortunately he had always been awful at healing charms and could do nothing to help the child or alleviate her pain.

"Lucius.. You realize you are over an hour late for lunch, do you? Poor Dragon was so disappointed when you failed to keep your promise.. I hope you have a valid reason or I swear.."

"Cissy, dear. I will tell you everything but first could you please treat this child and heal her?" he asked moving a few feet and allowing the witch to see the bed clearly.

"Oh my.." the blond haired woman gasped covering her mouth with a petite hand "Who could?"

"Later, dear. I'm afraid she must be in a lot of pain, even though she had not said anything about it" He explained raising at eyebrow at the child, who looked away as if to confirm his suspicions.

"Of course." She nodded removing her wand from the confines of the wrist holster hidden by her robes.

"Cissy.. You best explain as you proceed. I'm unsure of how much she knows, but probably very little" he advised making her widen her eyes.

"Very well. This is my wand dear, we use it to perform magic. Now, I'm going to wave it over you while I chant a spell and all your injuries will be shown on a piece of parchment" at the child's nod, she started the procedure.

It took quite a while for the paper to fill itself and stop writing and when it did, Narcissa could only wish to kill whomever did all that to an innocent child.

"The results?" Lucius asked, unnerved by the silence and the murder in his wife's eyes.

"She has several fractured or broken bones, many more that healed wrongly too. A concussion, and I can find traces of past ones that are giving her problems with her eyes. She has several bruised organs, some bleeding too. A lot of scar tissue on her back, legs and arms, along with flesh wounds and bruises. She is severely malnourished, underweight and dehydrated, her bones are brittle, the stomach shrunk. I assume that she is also older than what she looks."  
Lucius paled more and more as she went on with her list, wishing that he had killed those muggle vermin with his bare hands.

"Thankfully it can all be healed and when I'm done with her she will look as she was supposed to and not have any lingering damage" Narcissa assured both of them, even though the girl was not even fazed by the extent of her injuries.

"Good. Do you need anything?"

"No, thank you Lucius. I have all the potions I will need stocked in the cabinet. I've never been more grateful for my mastery in healing.." she whispered the last part.

"Now little one" She continued addressing the small girl on the bed "I will need to put you to sleep before starting to heal you, you won't feel anything at all and once you're awake you will be all fine. Alright?"

"Yes, ma'am" The girl rasped

"Oh, you poor dear" Narcissa cooed "Would you like a glass of cool water first? Yes?"

After helping the child drink very slowly, she put her to sleep with a wave of her wand and went to work in treating all the damage inflicted to her.

"Start talking husband" she demanded while working and Lucius hurried to comply.

"It seems that she had been left on the doorstep of the orphanage during the night, she may have been born December 16 or 17. No name, no personal items"

"Who leaves a child on a door during a freezing night?" Narcissa sneered "Filthy muggles.."

"The child is obviously magical and incredibly powerful too. She may be a pureblood or a halfblood whose parents died during the war"

"Doesn't explain why she's been left there and in such a way too"

"No, it doesn't" Lucius sighed

"Well.. What's her name?"

"She had no name on her when they found her, the worker gave her the name of Mary"

"How awfully muggle"

"Indeed" he agreed "I'll look into taking her to the goblins once she is fit to travel and have them perform a blood test. Maybe we'll be able to find her true name and who her parents are."

"She could have living relatives.. They must be so worried"

"Let's not jump to conclusions. She may as well be alone in the world. In that case she will need someone to take her in and provide for her. There is no way I'm letting her go back to those muggles" he sneered

"You think.. Maybe.."

Lucius took his wife's petite hands in his own and took them to his lips to lay a kiss on her fingers "One step at a time, my love. I know how you long for more children, I do too, but I don't want you hurt"

"Of course. You are right as always" she replied with a watery smile

"I'm going to take an appointment to Gringotts for her, when do you think she may be able to go?"

"I've taken care of everything, and she's already healing nicely. By this time tomorrow she should wake up and apart from a bit of weakness, I think she'll be able to travel and stand for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, malnourishment is not as easy to treat. She'll need to take proper potions for months before her body is completely restored to what it should be"

"Very well. I will go now. You should rest a few hours too. The healing took a lot of energies. I will leave one of the elves to keep watch on the child"

* * *

Her eyes kept darting everywhere. This new world was like walking in a dream. It was full of people just like her, that could do special things, magic. No one here would look at her like a freak, no one would insult her or abuse her for things she couldn't help but do. This power, magic, it was so deep inside her that it was second nature for her to use it to her needs.

Everywhere she looked she could see bright and peculiar dresses, no.. robes, Mr. Lucius told her they were called; owls, cauldrons and so many more fantastic things she couldn't wait to explore. Oh, how she wished she had ten more eyes to take in everything she could of this magical alley.

Once she had woken up Mr. Lucius and Mrs. Narcissa had explained the basics about magic to her and told her that at the bank they would be able to find out who she really was. They were concerned that she would be against a change of name or not ready to know who abandoned her and why, but she was. She hated the name she had been given by the orphanage worker, it was so common and anonymous. She didn't want to be just a face in the crowd. She wanted to stand out, to be someone everyone knew and admired, someone whose name would never be forgotten. And just like her, her name needed to be special, unforgettable.

Of course, even thought they had called her Mary, it was never much used. From what the worker of the orphanage told her and from what Lucius read on the reports in her folder, she had started showing signs of magic extremely early. Normally a child exhibited his first cases of accidental magic between 8 months and 5 years of age depending on different factors. Hers? The first recorded accident was at the age of 3 weeks old and it was safe to assume that there had been other occurrences that had been overlooked at first glance.

So, Mary became Freak or even Devil's Spawn pretty quickly.

She didn't know how much was recorded in that folder about her life at the orphanage and how much Mr. Lucius and Mrs. Narcissa knew of her punishments, but she was actually looking forward to forget it all and go forward with her life in this new and amazing world. She had no idea of what awaited her in the future but something told her that finally some good would come to her.

"Lucius Malfoy. I have an appointment with my account manager"

The cold voice of her savior broke her from her trance. She quickly examined her surroundings. Tall ceilings, sparkling floors, marble everywhere and short ugly creatures running around.

'Must be the goblins they told me about'

"He is expecting you. Follow him" the goblin teller said pointing to another small goblin already walking away from them.

While Mr. Lucius had no problem keeping up with the goblin, she almost had to run to keep up with them. Small they may be but goblins were fast little buggers, she thought.

By the time they arrived in front of the office, she was out of breath and her side hurt. She kept her breathing even though and tried her best to show no sign of her discomfort. Mr. Lucius was already being more than kind enough doing all this for her and she didn't want to be a nuisance.

Once inside she observed with keen eyes as Mr. Lucius greeted the creature, memorizing how he properly addressed it, no, it was a him, and interacted. She knew that you could learn much simply by observing what adults did, after all that's how she learned a lot of the things that the workers in the orphanage refused to teach her.

"I trust that everything is ready for the blood test I required?"

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. I have all the tools right here and of course the fee will be taken out of your vaults"

Her eyes widened. She never thought about the important fact that such services obviously needed to be paid. She didn't want Mr. Lucius to spend his gold on her, he had already done too much already, but she had no money. Maybe after she found out her real name she would be able to pay him back. Her parents must surely have had some money in their name if they were purebloods, like Mr. Lucius believed.

Yes, she would do that, she decided. No need to interrupt Mr. Lucius and the goblin, SharpClaw, for something she had already put her mind into.

"That was obvious" Lucius stated "Now, let's proceed. The child is still healing and must return to bed as soon as possible"

The goblin turned to observe her, taking in her small frame and sickly paleness of her skin.

"Pick your finger with the dagger and let two drops of your blood on the parchment" he instructed pushing the tools in front of her.

She didn't hesitate, like the two males were expecting. Instead easily cut the pad of her finger and squeezed to let the blood fall. She looked almost transfixed by the sight, hypnotized by her own blood.

Lucius took her hand, breaking her out of her trance, and healed the small cut. Meanwhile the goblin had taken the parchment back and was already grinning, reading as the information appeared.

"Oh, how interesting" He mused giving her a smile full of fangs.

Little did she know, not only her life had changed the moment Lucius found her, but a great destiny stood in front of her.

After all what else could you expect from the daughter of a man who did so many great things?

Terrible, mind you, but great.

* * *

 **Here is the second Chapter. Have you guessed who our little princess is yet? I gave you a pretty big hint there...**

 **Hope you like it! Let me know what you think about it.**

 **Thanks to everyone who added this story to their favorites or alert list and left a review!**

 **Next Chapter between tomorrow (don't get too used to it, though.. once the story picks up the updates will be once a week)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is the third chapter of the story, enjoy!**

* * *

Draco huffed, looking out of the window as the train sped by the county. He would finally go back home after another year away, surrounded by filth and idiots.

He almost wished he could have gone to school with her instead of Hogwarts, but his father had stressed the importance of making connections with his peers as Heir of the Family. Plus they needed someone to keep an eye on the old fool in case he suspected something.

It was an hard job to do though. Not only the headmaster was a walking headache with his garish robes and false grandfatherly façade, but the school was full of mudbloods and blood traitors. First on the list were the Golden Trio. Puah! A dirt poor jealous and idiotic blood traitor, a filthy know it all bucktoothed mudblood who couldn't mind her own business and lastly the great boy-who-lived, a stupid halfblood that looked like a street urchin and couldn't tell the difference between his wand and a stick of wood.

Even worse, the three had the uncanny ability to get in all kinds of trouble and only the sight of them was enough to make him want to kill something, preferably slowly and painfully.

The old coot was always giving them points too even though they had probably broken all the rules of the school already. How irritating.

The worst thing though was that he had to act like an idiot too, one that hid behind his father coattails and was only good for bragging. How he yearned to show them how to really use a wand. Not that silly wand waving they taught!

The only ones that knew who he really was were his friends.

He hated it, he hated it all. His head ached just thinking about the fact that this was just the third year and he had another four more to go. But for her he was ready for that and more.

There was only another hour or so of journey before they reached London. This summer would be different from the others though. He would still spent it training and studying real magic of course, but he wouldn't be alone.

This time a few of his friends would spend the summer months at his place, all training together. They had expressed the interest time and time again so he had finally caved and asked his father for permission. It had been easier than he thought, given their circumstances, but Theo, Blaise and Daphne would be allowed to stay.

As the cherry on top, later in the summer that would also attend the Quidditch World Cup too. He couldn't wait!

"Tell me again, Drake. What's there at the manor that gets you so excited every year?" asked Theo "As much as you can miss your parents, surely it can't be them"

"And don't try and claim it's for the training you get. You're not that studious or obsessed with learning" sneered Daphne.

Draco raised an eyebrow "I should feel insulted. I'll have you know that I take my learning very seriously, thank you very much"

"Sure sure. Now spill" Blaise urged him waving his hand.

The blond pursed his lips in thought. He knew he could trust them with his life and they would discover the reason soon enough.

"Fine." He took his wand and erected strong privacy wards around their compartment to make sure no one would overhear them.

"It's because of someone."

"You've got a girlfriend?" screeched Daphne "Why didn't we know about it?"

"What? Now, eww!" He grimaced

"That ugly?" inquired Theo

"Merlin, no. Quite the contrary. But she's my cousin, basically my sister. I'm not into incest or inbreeding" he shuddered

"You're a single child. Everyone knows that Bellatrix Lestrange is sterile, it was a great scandal when it got out after their wedding. Sirius Black is in Azkaban and his brother is dead. The rest of the Malfoy Family is in France and keeps well away from Great Britain. So who is it exactly this cousin of yours?" asked Blaise after his accurate analysis.

"Trust you to know everything about everyone" Draco said "It's complicated and I'm forbidden from divulging her parentage. Just know that she is related to me by blood. She lived with us for the last five years. She's our age too, so I'm pretty close to her, like a sibling as I told you"

"And the reason no one knew about her existence?"

"That, Theo, was for her safety." Draco stressed "No one can know about her until she is strong enough to defend herself from any danger or until the Dark Lord returns"

"Is she that important?" Daphne asked blinking

"Let's just say that given her parentage.. the light would immediately try and.. neutralize the danger she could pose. They already tried once, even though she was just a newborn"

The three students in the carriage gasped horrified by the knowledge. Children were sacred in the wizarding world and to try and harm one was the worst crime in existence. It was considered even worse than the use of unforgivable.

"You can trust us Draco. You know that my family is neutral in the war between light and dark, we do not care for such distinctions, but you can trust me with your secrets."

"Thank you Blaise. I would have probably gone mad in first year if it wasn't for you three"

"Oh, don't worry. You can thank me with new robes and shoes, Drakey dear" Daphne sniffed snobbily tossing her long blond hair behind her shoulder and hitting Theo in the process, who got a mouthful of hair.

"Oi!" the boy complained sputtering making the other two laugh and Daphne blush in embarrassment for her mistake.

Draco was glad he had such good friends and he was looking forward to sharing them with her. He thought she would like them too, after all not only he had spoken about them many times both in letters and during the summer, but they had all things in common with her.

She could use more friends, he thought, since all of hers were overseas.

* * *

Lucius met the teenagers at the station and then proceeded to get them all to the manor via porkey.

"Where is she Father?" Draco asked as soon as it was safe to talk freely.

"Probably in the library, I've been at the ministry all day preparing for the Quidditch Cup, so I wouldn't know." The man replied "Go and find her. Or she'll read past dinner time again"

"Yes, Father"

Just as he was about to lead his friends towards the library a petite figure emerged from the glass doors of the terrace

"No need, Uncle. I'm right here" she spoke with a soft and melodious voice "Welcome back Dray. How was the train ride?"

"Boring as usual and it's good to be back. I missed you"

The girl giggled, reminding them of twinkling bells "I missed you too. But you are being increbibly rude. Who are your guests?"

"Oh… oh! Yes, come over here so I can introduce you properly" he asked motioning her over with a wave of his hand.

As she stepped away from the glass doors, what could only be seen as a shadowy figure became clear features.

The three teenagers observed her curiously. She was of average height, with long wavy black hair and cobalt blue eyes. If one were to look at her really closely would be able to see the violet tints in them. Her skin was the palest of tones, making her resemble a porcelain doll.

While they continued with their studying, Draco kept talking "Those are my friends. Daphne Greengrass, Heiress of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Greengrass, Theodore Nott,Heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Nott and"

"Blaise Zabini, Miss" the Italian wizard introduced himself smoothly, taking hold of her delicate hand and bowing to drop a kiss on her knuckles "Heir of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Zabini, Prince of the Ombra Family"

"Pleasure to meet you" she answered shyly with a gentle blush coloring her cheeks.

Draco was stunned. Never, never had he seen her so… shy or blushing! In what world had he stepped into? Where was the stubborn, strong and independent girl he considered a sister? The same one who had broken the nose of a boy at school because he asked her on a date?

"May I know your name, bellissima?"

'Smooth bastard' thought Draco. He didn't speak Italian but he was pretty sure that it meant beautiful. The git was flirting with his sister!

Blaise smirked when the blush instead of going away, intensified at his words. 'So this pretty fae knows what it means' he would have to keep it in mind.

"Now, wait a moment here" Draco huffed red in the face

"Uh uh. He's gonna kill Blaise" Theo commented in a low voice "It was good to know you mate"

"Oh shut up." Daphne elbowed him

"That's my sister here, how dare you try and flirt with her!"

Blaise blinked slowly, the girl's hand still in his own "I don't see the problem. I just introduced myself"

"Bollocks!" the other snapped "You were totally flirting and trying to attract her with your Italian charm! I will have none of it!"

"You, Draco?" the girl asked with a calm and yet chilling voice making shivers go everyone's back

"I.."

"I was not aware that I needed your permission to interact with someone, _Draco."_ She narrowed her eyes taking a step forward towards her cousin, and unconsciously closer to the Italian wizard, her hand still held in his larger and tanner one. _  
_

"I didn't mean.."

"You didn't mean to act as if you have a claim on how I behave or live my life?

"No, I.."

"You were totally out of bounds. Intruding where there was no reason or need for it"

Draco gulped realizing he made a terrible mistake.

"Accusing your friend only out of unreasonable protectiveness"

"Wait, that was not.."

"Do you think I'm unable to deal with the low lives who think can take advantage of me?"

"No, you definitely.."

"I can take care of myself, I can judge people better than you and I take my own decisions, Draco. Do not try and order me what to do or not do, either directly or indirectly, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal" the blond gulped.

"Splendid" she smiled brilliantly.

Theo and Daphne looked at each other mentally agreeing on the same thing. Draco's cousin was bloody scary!

Blaise on the other hand could not help but feel even more intrigued by the dark haired witch who seemed to have captured him with her unique allure.

When she went to move a lock of hair from her eyes she realized that her hand was still captured and blushed again "Oh!"

"Now, that Draco looks calmer" Blaise said whispered close to her ear "May I know your name?"

"Oh! Of course" she battled down the urge to stutter at the close proximity with the handsome wizard. She had seen many good looking boys at her school, but this one had something different. Something that made her feel all giggly and made butterflies flutter in her stomach.

His whiskey colored eyes stared right at her odd tinted ones, neither of them could break this connection started.

That is until Draco coughed rather loudly. He did not need to see his sister making googly eyes with his friend.

She looked quickly away, clearing her voice and trying to will down the blush that was erupting on her face, making her feel on fire.

As soon as she felt more composed she looked at the three guests and smiled.

"I apologize for my rudeness. My name is.."

* * *

 **I know I'm an evil author who leaves with with a cliff hanger.. I couldn't resist though.**

 **Why don't you try and guess her name? Let's see if someone gets it right before tomorrow's update!**

 **Thanks to everyone who added the story to their favorite or alert lists and those who left a review, they are always much appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait but I hadn't been feeling well, now that I once again resemble a human being... Enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

"My name is Alya Mira Black. Heiress of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, Heiress of the Royal House of Slytherin" she introduced herself with a little curtsey.

Draco sighed, whishing she would have left out her complete title and stopped at Black, while Daphne and Theo gaped like fishes.

Blaise blinked again before smirking "My, I can see why Draco was so worried about it. With a father of your caliber…"

"Indeed. He tends to leave a certain.. impression, does he not?" she giggled with a little smirk making him chuckle.

"You.. You really are HIS daughter?" Theo breathed incredulous

"I am" she nodded "Now, dinner will be served soon so you better show our guests their rooms Draco, I'm sure you all want to freshen up after the long train ride"

"You are right, Mother would be upset if we were late for the meal" Draco sighed "come on, you'll have plenty of time to get to know her better" he said, before doing a double take and glaring at Blaise as if to dare him to get to know her too much.

Seeing the look with the corner of his eye, Blaise turned to Alya and gave her an exaggerated wink making her giggle and cover her mouth with her hands before Draco noticed anything.

Who knew the blond could turn into such an overprotective older brother?

* * *

"Dementors on school ground? Really?" Alya scoffed at the old man's idiocy "I'm glad you didn't send me there Uncle"

They were just finishing dinner when Alya asked Draco to explain why exactly he failed to owl her as frequently as he usually would this past school year. It was then that Draco told her about the dementors being posted at Hogwarts. All of the children were feeling various degrees of depression through it all, many suffering from night terrors too. Draco, while reacting better than others, was still left with a sense of numbness and slight misery, giving him trouble with anything that required paying attention, like school work, lessons or having to sit down and write a letter.

He was not using it as an excuse, he was angry at himself for being unable to shake it off, but needed to make her understand.

"Did they at least catch Sirius? Or it was completely useless?"

"Useless of course" sneered Lucius "They had him but he managed to escape Hogwarts… wonder how?"

"Potter has something to do with it, I'm sure" Draco grunted

"Whenever isn't he involved in something disastrous happening in the school?" Blaise grumbed "First the troll, the illegal dragon of the groundskeeper, the Mirror of Erised that really shouldn't be kept in a school of impressionable children, then the whole business with Quirrell being murdered and the rumors of Dumbledore hiding the philosopher stone in the school"

"The what?" Daphne gasped

"Philosopher's stone. You know, the turn anything into gold thing, elixir of life, pretty red stone?"

"I know what it is, you asshole!" she interrupted him, before blushing at her language "I meant how did you know?"

"Oh, I have my sources" he waved her off

"Quite interesting sources, Mr. Zabini" Lucius commented intrigued "Have you seen this Mirror of Erised?"

Blaise grimaced "Yes, I did. Pretty cruel artifact.." he said with eyes gone cold.

"Second year" the Italian boy continued "It was the whole speaking parseltongue fiasco, people being petrified and the basilisk in the chamber of secrets.."

"There really was a basilisk?" asked Theo awed

"Yup. I would give half of my estate for the chance to go down the Chamber and explore it" he sighed wistfully

"It would be pretty interesting" Alya agreed from his right side "Maybe we could arrange something about it?" she whispered mischievously.

Blaise turned to see her eyes twinkling happily "I like how you think" He smirked

"And what of this year?" asked Lucius "In what kind of troubles has Mr. Potter gone into?"

"Nothing much, apart from battling dementors and werewolves to save his godfather and then probably helping him escape with a certain hippogriff."

"Pity it can't be proven or we could get rid of scar head for good" sneered Draco

"Enough talking about Mr. Potter" Narcissa scolded them "why not speak of more pleasant things while we enjoy our dessert?"

"I'm sorry Mother, you are right"

"So.." Daphne started towards Alya "Are you homeschooled?"

"Oh, no. Uncle wanted me to, but can you imagine how boring it would be to be trapped inside the manor all year long?" Alya shuddered "I've been accepted at the Academy of Magics in Salem"

"Wow, I've heard it's really hard to enter there. They have an admission test so difficult that only one student every twenty manages to pass"

"True" she nodded "But it's for a good cause. The curriculum is really advanced and a lot of the subjects and magics we study are either dangerous and illegal in many countries or lost; a lot of the times both"

"How interesting"

"Theo is the resident bookworm" Daphne informed her, waiting for the brown haired boy to start drooling imagining all the rare books Alya's school had

"No, problem. I am a bit of a bookworm too, maybe I could lend some of my books?" she offered

"Really? It would be great" the boy cheered

"Of course. Only the basic ones mind you, I'm not allowed to share the more advanced knowledge outside of the school, but compared to what you will study at Hogwarts it still will be challenging to you"

"That's fine. Thank you very much!"

"How the school?" Daphne asked "Is it similar to Hogwarts?"

"Well… The school is a castle." She stated "But the similarities end here. The Academy doesn't sort into houses. We're only divided into years and after our OWLs, we are sorted based on power, academic scores and chosen field"

"Field?"

"Yes. Some want to be healers, others scholars or spell crafters… by the end of the school they will all be Masters"

"Do you know what you would like to do?" Blaise asked

"Oh, yes. There is a program offered that I'm really interested in, I'm already working hard trying to qualify"

"What is it about?"

"Um.. Well. Basically instead of choosing just one field to specialize into, you.. well, you do it all" she said plainly.

"All?" asked Daphne surprised

"Yes. The last time it was done was in 1864, no one qualified for it since then"

"How does it work?" Theo inquired confused. Just the amount of sheer work and the hours required for the study should be impossible for a normal human.

"I would study with all the masters in the school. Of course the Academy as special time control rooms where for example one hour outside would equal to five on the inside. It is extremely taxing on the student, such program, but I'm determined to go through with it"

"That's impressive" Blaise commented fascinated by the passion she was showing

"T-thank you" she whispered with a mild blush.

Narcissa saw this and smiled with shining eyes, already planning the betrothal, marriage and a horde of nephews and nieces. They would be so beautiful together!

It was so rare to see her niece so girly and shy that she mentally applauded the young Zabini for such an accomplishment. It was high time that her beautiful girl started accepting the praises and attentions of young men. After all soon young men will run all over each other for the chance of courting her.

"What title would it grant you at the end of the program?" he asked smiling

"Who goes through with it and succeed is recognized as a Master or Mistress of Magic" she said proudly "It's the highest title you can ever get. That's what Merlin was acknowledged as"

"So in the scale of power, it would be above Arch Mage?" mused Theo "Dumbledore can only dream of this kind of title, let alone Master of Magic! You're gonna kick his ass!" he exclaimed making them all laugh

* * *

"Alya, dear. Could you come to my study for a moment?"

"Yes, Uncle. Do you need something?"

"I just wish to talk to you for a few moments"

"Of course" she nodded taking a seat in the armchair in front of his desk

"How do you feel about Black.. Sirius being free?"

"Free isn't exactly the word I would use, seeing he is still a fugitive and will need to hide away from dementors." She said "I don't feel anything particular. I know that he is my Uncle but I don't know him and even more important he supports Dumbledore. I doubt I would ever trust him to know of my existence, so why bother worrying about him?" she shrugged her shoulders delicately

"He is your carrier's brother, you have a pretty close connection with him"

"I would have had things gone differently. But he got himself thrown into Azkaban actin like a stupid Gryffindor and trusting Dumbledore to keep him out. Look where it got him." She sighed "Honestly I doubt he is sane enough to recognize that the same man he put his trust onto is the same that left him in that hell on heart to suffer. He will keep following Dumbledore, I'm sure. Had things been different… I'm not sure. Aunt said that he has a visceral hate for his family and anything dark. And I am both"

"Honestly, I'm happy with the family I have. I don't need an insane uncle who would try to make me become something I'm not or that would judge me based only on my father. I have you and Aunty Cissy and Draco. That is enough for me"

"Very well. Should you need to talk, don't hesitate to come to me or to your Aunt, alright dear?"

"Of course." She said raising from her chair

"Goodnight Alya"

"Goodnight Uncle Lucius" she smiled "Oh, Uncle? Thank you for always taking such good care of me. I love you"

"I love you too, princess" he told her allowing a small smile to grace his usually aloof features.


	5. Chapter 5

Alya stirred slowly under the comfort of her sheets. The sun was streaming through the gaps in the curtains lighting up her bedroom and alerting her that it was time to wake.

A lazy smile spread to her lips as she thought of the last two weeks and Draco's friends. She liked the studious and sometimes silly Theo. Daphne was fast becoming her best friend, someone she could talk about clothes, boys and gossip. While she had her own friends at school, they were few and she missed the possibility of spending time with them since they came from all over the world.

Blaise. Blaise was something else entirely.

She remembered the electrifying sensation that run through her hand and whole body when he first touched her. It was like her entire being recognized him and made her yearn for his company.

She was confused and uncomfortable at first with that situation. She was not used to feeling nervous about boys, much less blushing or giggling! But as the time passed she found herself greatly enjoying his presence. He was smart, sarcastic and charming. He could make her laugh as well as he could hold a conversation about theories of magic. She had to admit too, he was very good looking.

With his wavy black hair, richly tanned skin and captivating whiskey colored eyes, she found herself tempted like a moth to a flame.

She would go slow though. Not only she was still thirteen, but she preferred to study a situation in depth before taking any decision. There was no chance that she would fall head over heels for him in such a short time.

Nope. If he wanted her, he would have to earn her attentions.

During the past two weeks the group of teenagers had spent their time between school work, studying dark arts, training and dueling and flying. Alya was greatly enjoying the novelty and was grateful that Draco decided not only to trust his friends with her secret but to share them with her.

He was such a good and devoted big brother. Though at times he could be overprotective. Many times he had caught Blaise lightly flirting with her or staring at her while he thought she wouldn't notice, proceeding to scold the Italian wizard and warn him off. After that Blaise would up the hand or exaggerate his seducing just to make him mad. Alya found their antics highly amusing.

Sighing a little she decided to get up and start the day. Narcissa would take Alya and Daphne to Paris after breakfast for a morning full of shopping followed by some relaxation at the magical spa and they would finishing with the hair salon.

Alya knew that Narcissa had always wished for more children, especially a little daughter of her own, and while she was not born to her, she was happy to let her Aunt dote on her to her heart's content.

* * *

"What do you think of Mr. Zabini, my dear?"

They were at the spa getting their manicures done and her Aunt had wasted to time to get to the point

"Aunty!" she tried to complain but a look from the woman made her pause and resign "What should I think exactly?"

"Do you like him?" asked Daphne

"I suppose." She admitted making the female's eye shine "as a friend" she corrected herself quickly

Narcissa huffed "Why not as something more? He's certainly a handsome boy, rich.."

"I'm simply not ready for this kind of things… Maybe it will change in the future, maybe not"

"But would you give him a chance if he wished to court you?" she prodded

Alya made to reply before closing her mouth and thinking about it "Maybe. It depends on a lot of things really."

"You're so difficult"

She shrugged "I know and I know that even if I was open to a courtship with him, he would have to work hard to earn it"

Daphne giggled "That's right! Make him sweat it" she said "The boy has too much charm for his own good and knows how to use it. He makes all of our years witches swoon and a lot of the older ones too. Show him that you're hard to get and he'll do anything to make you his"

"Men, my dear girls, are all the same." Narcissa told them with a little smirk "That little trick works every time on every man. Especially If they think that they can get any girl they want"

"Could it be that you used it on Uncle Lucius?" Alya sniggered

"I don't know what you're talking about dear. It was Lucius who insisted so strongly for our betrothal" she said with a sniff, making the girls giggle loudly at her admission.

"I know you won't admit it yet" the woman said to her niece while Daphne was busy with her attendant "but you do have a little crush on the boy, I can tell" she stated making Alya blush "I won't say or do anything but If you wish for a talk or advice, you come to me, alright sweetness?"

"Yes, Aunty. Thank you" she smiled

* * *

While the girls were enjoying themselves in Paris, the boys were having a special tutoring in politics and wizarding laws with Lucius. It was all very interesting and very soon the lesson turned into several debates on different subjects.

Lucius used the opportunity to study the Zabini boy, having seen the special attention he bestowed on his niece. So far he approved of the boy, he came from an upstanding family of pure blood, was smart, cunning and had a good head on his shoulders. Should the boy ask for permission to court his niece, he would probably agree. That is, if this happened before his Lord return. He was sure the boy would have a much harder time gaining his Lord's approval and permission to court the Dark Princess.

A sadistic and highly protective part of him almost wished for it to happen. After all Alya was like a daughter for him and what father wanted for a boy to taker her away from them?!

He smirked, lazily stroking the slowing darkening mark on his arm above his clothes.

* * *

Draco smiled as he saw the girls. They had just returned from their girl's day and were all flushed and giggling, even his mother was acting like a school girl. He was glad that his sister Alya was able to find a good friend in Daphne and that his mother could enjoy this moments of mother-daughter quality thanks to the girls.

"Dray!" Alya called him smiling widely and running into his arms to hug him, something that took her a whole two years before being comfortable doing it.

"Yes?" he asked arching a pale eyebrow

She pouted "Shouldn't you tell me how I look pretty?"

"Should I?" he mocked

"Yes! What an awful brother I have" she lamented detangling herself from him and bringing a hand to her forehand in despair

"What do you need him for when you have an handsome Italian more than willing to shower you in compliments, bellissima?" Blaise asked coming from behind her and speaking near her neck

Alya jumped both from being startled and from the sensation of his warm breath on her skin

"My, aren't we forward Mr. Zabini?" she drawled

"Subtle doesn't always apply, I find I prefer being direct in such matters"

"A girl could think you're being serious" she commented off her shoulder before leaving the room, leaving him to stare at her bewildered.

"Translation" Daphne offered "don't flirt with anything that moves or she'll never take you seriously"

"I do not flirt with anything that moves" Blaise corrected her "I've been raised to compliment a beautiful woman when I see one."

"So you're not flirting with my sister" Draco commented relieved

"I never said that" the Italian smirked before retiring to his own bedroom leaving behind a stunned and gaping Malfoy.

"Close your mouth Draco. Such idiotic look does not suit you" Theo commented from behind his book "Makes you resemble the Weasel, actually"

Draco snapped out of it quickly glowering at his friend while Daphne giggled.

* * *

"What do you mean I can't come with you to the Quidditch World Cup?" Alya screamed

Weeks at passed and it was finally the day of the match. The Malfoys had tickets for the Minister's box and extras to take their guests.

Alya had assumed that she had been included in the family, wrongly so.

"I mean that it's too dangerous for you to come" Lucius stated "We can risk any of those light fools recognizing you and putting you in danger."

"Oh, because they would take a look at me and just scream at the top of their lungs!" she scoffed "Or maybe you think I'd walk around with a giant sign stuck to my forehead saying 'Beware: heir of the Dark Lord'?!"

"Do not get sassy with me, girl"

"Then don't give me shit excuses!"

"It's not… The Weasleys will be in the top box too. What do you think they will do when they see an unfamiliar witch with my family?" Lucius asked "They will run right to Dumbledore and he will demand to be shown the memory. Do not think for a single instant that he wouldn't recognize the similarities you share with your father"

"Dumbledore taught the Dark Lord, he knows perfectly well what he looks like, unlike the majority of the wizarding world who saw only his snake like glamour." he continued "He saw you when you were born, he already knows what you look like."  
"Right now he thinks you're in the muggle world, miserable and unaware of magic or maybe dead. What do you think he will do if he discovers otherwise? Powerful and smart you may be but you are nowhere near ready to defend yourself from Dumbledore!"

Alya shrunk back frowning at the injustice of it all. It was not fair.

After all those years suffering in the orphanage she had found a family, but still she could not fully enjoy them. Why must she be denied the simple joy of a family outing, unless it was outside of Britain? Time and time again she had seen her family going out together and come back home happy and smiling, and she had tried her best not to show how much it hurt her. But enough was enough. She was older now, she was powerful and being trained by the most powerful wizards on the planet, why was she still left behind?

She clenched her fists tightly, enough to draw blood with her nails.

She heard Lucius sigh, before being enveloped in his arms.

"Please don't cry, princess. I loathe to hurt you, and believe me I know how you feel.. how you felt every time. I'm just trying to protect you. I wouldn't take it if something happened to you, if you were put into danger because I overlooked something. It would kill Narcissa, if we were to lose you. And Draco would be heartbroken." He said soothingly against her hair while stroking her back with his hand "I would be too"

Alya sniffed "It's not fair" she whimpered

"Life is seldom fair, my dear" he agreed "Soon. Just be patient for a little more"

* * *

 **Here is the new chapter, what do you think of it?**

 **Thanks to everyone who added this story to their favourite or alert lists and left a review, they are very much appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 6

Alya sighed heavily before throwing herself on her bed. She was exhausted and she hurt everywhere. She had been back to school for nearly a month now and she still was adjusting to the chance. Rolling over she took the envelop she left on her bedside table that morning.

Giggling she ripped it open, swinging her feet up and down in the air behind her.

 _Ciao Bellissima,_

 _I'm glad that you agreed to exchange letters before we both left for school. I'm looking forward for the chance to get to know you better without a certain blond angrily breathing down my neck. Mind you, he would probably stomp all over the common room if he knew I was writing you at the moment instead of doing my charms essay. I'm quite temped to tell him just to enjoy the show he would provide, but then he would probably demand to read all our correspondence to make sure I wasn't corrupting you or something similar. Better not._

 _That said, I apologize it took me so long to finally write you. You won't believe what a madhouse Hogwarts is at the moment._

 _Right at the welcoming feast the old coot had not only announced that there would be no Quidditch Cup this year –can you imagine the injustice? Quidditch fanatics threw a right tantrum and still are going strong about it – but he also announced that the TriWizard Tournament would take place at Hogwarts this year._

 _Yeah, totally insane._

 _I can imagine the decrepit idiots in the Ministry being bored to death and deciding to revive the thing just for the hell of it. And obviously, being the concerned and cautious headmaster that he is, Dumbledore agreed with the farce._

 _*please insert sarcastic scoff right here*_

 _I'm relieved that I'm not depending just on this school for my education or I would be ruined._

 _Thankfully someone with a grain of brain must have put his hand in this whole mess and limited the participation to the students of seventeen and older. Personally I think that it's just because that way they'll be able to shrug off the blame for eventual deaths since the competitors would be of age, ergo able to understand what they are getting into and take their own decisions, and limit the amount of angry parents and eventual legal actions against the Ministry or the school._

 _Want to bet that somehow Potter will find himself under the spotlight of the event?_

 _Enough with all this boring talk though. It's you I want to speak about. I'd really like to know more, whatever you feel comfortable sharing with me, I won't ask you questions you're not willing to answer. Maybe we could start with something basic?_

 _Of course I'm ready to reciprocate and tell anything you wish to know about little old me._

 _I really need to go now, Draco is looking at me strangely and suspects I'm not really doing my homework. Wonder why? It's perfectly normal to write essays on charms theories with a silly grin on your face._

 _I eagerly await your letter._

 _Blaise Zabini._

Alya sighed letting herself fall face first into the pillow. Why did the headmaster have to think up all those ridiculous and dangerous shit? And why did it have to happen while her cousin/brother was attending there? She swore to herself that should any harm befall on Draco she would throw a storm of curses at whomever responsible, the old coot first on the list.

She raised her head warily and glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was past ten p.m. and she still had to do her homework. She groaned pitifully.

Maybe she shouldn't have chosen so many classes to take..

* * *

 _Dear Blaise,_

 _Must you always call me 'beautiful'? I'll have you know that one of the very few people I consider friends is half Italian, so I can understand perfectly what you say or write for that matter._

 _That said, I can't believe the idiocy of the British Ministry! The tournament had been banned for a reason – the death of too many students and let's not talk about all the spectators that had been injured or killed during the tasks! Even a couple of headmasters had not escaped untouched or alive for that matter._

 _The knowledge that it's reserved to of age students only relieves me. At least I'll know that Draco won't be tempted to enter or risk his life needlessly._

 _I quite agree with you about your theory on the old mummies of the Ministry._

 _You got me quite curious, what do you mean that you don't depend on the school for education? I mean, I understand that you are probably being side tutored on dark arts and the like, like Draco and the other purebloods, but something makes me think that you meant more than that._

 _Speaking of Draco, please avoid telling him that we are corresponding or we'll never hear the end of it! He's worse than an overprotective father when he puts his mind into it, it's quite a feat._

 _So you want to know more of me? Fine.. let's see… what can I tell you?  
My favorite color is red, not Gryffindor red before you even think about complaining, blood red. I love reading, especially if it's curled on a comfortable armchair in front of the fire with a mug of hot chocolate. Oh, I looove chocolate! _

_What else? I'm not very good at this sharing thing.. why don't you go first and show me?  
I'm sorry but I have to cut this short. I'm literally drowning in schoolwork! _

_Alya Black_

* * *

 _Mia Cara,_

 _I don't see the problem in calling you beautiful, that's what you are after all._

 _It's interesting the fact that you know Italian, may have to take advantage of it when we see each other in person again. Draco sucks at languages, knows French only because his mother drilled it into his head as a small child and didn't give up until he learned._

 _It seems that the Drumstrang and Beaubatons delegations will arrive just before Halloween. Joy. Hogwarts will be invaded by Vikings and silly veelas._

 _So you do want to know about me! I knew it!  
Very well… I like blue, running on the beach early in the morning, dueling and rock music. Shh! Don't tell anyone about it but muggles sure know what they're doing, it's my little secret. I can play the guitar too, though it's something only my mother and now you know. _

_I like to collect things, at the manor I have a room full of swords and other weapons, paintings scattered all over the place and the library is overflowing. May have to show you sometimes, I'm sure that you'll be able to find many tomes you haven't read yet._

 _What else? At seven I pushed stepdad number 6 off the terrace. He was soo obnoxious and expected mother to spend all of her time with him. If that wasn't enough he kept calling me Bill… BILL! Pity I miscalculated and he fell into the pool instead of the torn bushes near it._

 _I totally share your love for chocolate, but really I like all good food, you know being Italian and all. We sure know how to make drool worthy food._

 _As for my education, I can say much about it but let's say that I have special tutors that work me to the bones in the summer and bury me in assignments during the school year so I don't fall behind. Maybe we could compare workloads sometimes, see which one is in worse danger of dying._

 _Do you know what's better than reading on the couch in front of the fire with a mug of hot chocolate?_

 _Doing it while snuggled with someone._

 _Totally volunteering._

 _Blaise._

* * *

 _You cruel man,_

 _Why do you have to have the power to make me blush even by letter?! My friends had been hounding me for hours after that trying to discover who my secret admirer is!_

 _I'll never forgive you._

 _If school doesn't kill me this year, my friends surely will._

 _I'm sure you were adorable as a child and I can easily imagine you pushing people off the terrace. I'm surprised I'm not the only child who tried to kill someone. But then again I'm his Dark Lordness daughter, it's kind of expected from me. But you? Wow.._

 _I have to say though that I was better at planning that you, still not successful but I did more than an unplanned bath._

 _So, Bill is a mummy's boy… Who would have thought?_

 _I'll have to take you up on your offer sometimes, I can't say no the temptation of new books or even better old tomes. Do you know how to use all those weapons too or it's just for show?_

 _Your secret is safe with me. I despise muggles but I can recognize they can create beautiful things. It always leaves me confused. How can such fearful and hateful creatures, who can destroy with such ease also be able to create such divine art, sculptures that survived centuries, paintings that capture you, music that can move your soul. I simply cannot understand it._

 _I guess it's my turn to share something?_

 _Oh! You'll like that, but it stays between us or I'll never hear the end of it._

 _When I joined the Malfoys I didn't want to play with Draco at the beginning because he kept pushing pink tea cups and dolls at me. I didn't like them. When he tried to get me into a frilly pink dress I snapped and he found himself dressed into the monstrosity with curly hair and pink lipstick. He never tried again and I guess he finally understood that I hated pink!  
I remember Narcissa and Lucius running into the room alerted by Draco's scream and the faces they made. Priceless! I still have blackmail pictures stored safely away. _

_That said. My dueling professor will have my hide if I'm late._

 _Try not to fall for some pretty veela allure._

 _Alya._

* * *

 ** _Well, here was the new chapter, what do you think about it? Blaise sure doesn't waste any time in trying to woo our Alya.._**

 ** _As always thank you for adding my story to your favourite or alert lists and leaving a review!_**

 ** _Next update, tomorrow!_**


	7. Chapter 7

_Mia Cara,_

 _How could I fall for some silly veela charms when you're clearly more beautiful than they could ever be? Besides, I always preferred brunettes to blondes._

 _I can't say the same for many male students though. You should see Weasel making a fool out of himself each time he crosses paths with one of them. Though, I'm starting to think he's a bit sexually confused. He reacts exactly the same to Krum._

 _Let me update you on the events. On Hallowen they selected the champions and guess what? Potter's name got out of the cup along with Diggory, Delacour and Krum._

 _I don't think he put his name in, Dumbledore's age line despite being stupidly easy to circumvent if you know your spells, he couldn't have done it. So someone else was responsible. Possibly a death eater who wants him dead._

 _The trio kepts suspecting Snape as usual, but it's easy to see he's in Dumbledore's pocket even if an ex death eater. About that. Does he know anything about you? It would be incredibly dangerous if he were to report Dumbledore._

 _I would have loved to see Draco in drag, you absolutely must share the pictures at the first available chance!_

 _That said. If you call me Bill again I'll do my worst to make you blush in front of your friends, you're warned._

 _I was an awful mummy's boy as a child, I admit it. But I only had her, my father died before I was even born and I hated all those men who tried to take her attention away from me. I grew out of it, I know that my mother was just trying to fill the void my father left by marrying all these men, but it never worked. Now she just plays with them and kills them._

 _So being the son of the Black Widow, of course I have murdering tendencies. I should be offended you thought differently._

 _My swords are not just for show. I started training in sword combat when I was seven, my personal favorites are katanas and broadswords, but you can always find at least two daggers on my person._

 _I agree with your thoughts on muggles, though I have my theory about it._

 _Draco is bothering me about helping him make 'Potter stink' badges, so I've got to go._

 _Will you be going home for the Yule holiday's?_

 _The school is organizing a Yule Ball. It's such a drag. If you were here I would have no doubt about asking you to be my date, alas I'll probably go stag. Don't want some poor girl to read too much in my invite and think I fancy them or something._

 _I'll let you know if Potter gets roasted by dragons for his first task or manages to survive once again._

 _Blaise_

* * *

 _My dear Blaise,_

 _Whoever said I would accept your invite to the Yule Ball? You shouldn't be so sure of yourself, I'm not so easy to get. A few sweet words and a charming smile will not be enough to make me swoon._

 _The Academy does not let students leave for the Yule holidays. We get a couple of days of rest for the feast then back to work. Such slave drivers!_

 _This is our OWLs year though, so the increased workload is to be expected. I only pray to survive the NEWTs or my plan to be the first in centuries to be accepted to the special program will fail._

 _I have to admit you managed to impress me. Not many purebloods would lower themselves to do any physical work let alone subject themselves to the rigorous training needed to learn the art of the sword. Definitely impressed._

 _Even here at the Academy where they offer training to learn how to use any kind of weapon, very few take up on the chance. I myself decided to try in first year. After all should I ever find myself without my wand or unable to use my magic, I couldn't possibly be able to fight back against a man. I'm not delusional enough to think otherwise._

 _I found myself drawn to the sai daggers and I have to say I'm pretty good. Pity I don't have a great variety of sparring partners. There are only so many times you can fight against the same person before you learn their moves and it gets boring._

 _I certainly didn't mean to offend you, oh Heir of the Widow! Do you plan to follow your mother's footsteps perhaps?_

 _Uncle Lucius never told Snape about me. After the war Dumbledore spoke in his favor and that's enough to say without a doubt that the man has been a double spy in the war and probably will be again if given the chance._

 _Unfortunately he is also Draco's godfather and that meant that he would visit often, especially before he started his first year. I would usually have to hide in my bedroom until he left. You can't imagine how boring it was._

 _Thankfully Uncle slowly limited his visits during the years and now he usually comes to the manor once or twice a year at most._

 _Did you say Dragons?! How do you know what the first task will be? Or better since it probably happened by now. How did you know what it would be?_

 _I only hope they weren't harmed. The dragons I mean, not the champions.. Dragons are such beautiful creatures and should be protected, not used for such stupid competitions!_

 _Potter stinks? What are you boys? Five?  
I would love to hear about your theory on muggles. Do share_

 _Alya_

* * *

 _Mia Cara,_

 _You wound me. How can you give a man a glimpse of hope and then shatter it so? Never mind, I'll just have to persist and show you that I'm the man for you. I'm not afraid of hard work._

 _You have OWLs in third year? That's madness! You have all my sympathy and moral support._

 _I would love to say that the dragons weren't harmed, but it gets worse than that. Eggs were destroyed. You can't imagine how furious I was when I realized that had not only brought dragons into this farce, but nesting mothers!_

 _It took all my control not to jump over the stands and murder Dumbledore, the idiot Bagman and that useless piece of shit of Fudge!_

 _I found about the dragons during my morning run. I usually do some laps around the lake or venture into the Forbidden Forest when I want more of a work out and I run right into them. Almost got flayed actually. Had I noticed the eggs that time I would have opened the cages and to hell with all of them._

 _How could the dragon handlers allow for this to happen, I can't comprehend it._

 _Better change the subject before some poor sod finds himself at the end of my dagger._

 _I'm glad that Snape doesn't know about you. The man is good with us snakes and he is a brilliant potion master but he is too much tied, or indebted, to Dumbledore to trust him with any important information. Let alone your life._

 _Sai daggers, uh? I probably shouldn't write this, but it's three in the morning and I'm practically asleep, so I'll do it anyway._

 _That's incredibly sexy._

 _Maybe I could be your.. sparring partner sometimes?_

 _Blaise_

* * *

 _You pig!_

 _Keep your sexual innuendos out of our correspondence! Sparring partner my arse…_

 _And please avoid writing to me while drunk of sleep. I'm quite temped to send you an hex tied to the letter, but I'll be forgiving and pass you this one. You're warned though should it happen again._

 _Shouldn't there be dangerous creatures it the forbidden forest? You have quite a twisted sense of working out. But then again my idea of training is having twenty animated dummies throw curses at me. I have no room to talk._

 _You know, you talk of murdering too easily for someone who's simply the son of a black widow. I'll figure you out someday Mr. Zabini._

 _Now, I'm still quite cross with you. So I shall end my letter here._

 _Alya Black._

* * *

 _You little minx!_

 _Not hexing the letter my arse! I've been tripping everywhere for a week! And I'm trained to be stealthy and silent on my feet, what an embarrassment. You can forget chocolates for Valentine's day. Bad girls don't get gifts._

 _Did you know that the Black Lake holds mermaids? Not even the pretty girl with fishtails kind that you can find in the sea, but the ugly fish faced ones! Eww! I should feel sorry for the champions who had to save an hostage from them. Swimming in the freezing water is bad enough after all. I wonder if the hostages had been asked to participate. Given the reaction of the veela child they stuck at the bottom of the lake, I would say not._

 _What would I give to be a fly on the headmaster's office when Monsieur Delacour visits him to tear him a new one. I heard that he's running for Minister of Magic in France._

 _Twenty dummies uh? Not bad, Miss Black, not bad at all. I'm really looking forward to dueling you now._

 _I've got a little riddle for you. What do you get from missing potion ingredients, a strange professor and Potter_ _in danger?_

* * *

 _Serves you right!_

 _What's that? Already tired of the two legged females at Hogwarts and are looking into other species? How shameful of you, Mr. Zabini. Do not think that just because you make no mention of it in our letters I am unaware of your … conquests._

 _As for chocolates. Whomever said I need a man to gift me? I am perfectly able to buy my own, thank you very much._

 _Besides, given the amount of studying I'm doing I have no time to think about such a silly event. I've already hexed ten boys who asked me out for the day and scared another twenty out of trying by glaring them to death. Maybe some chocolate would de me some good though, the professors are all pushing hard and I'm beyond stressed._

 _The riddle is a bit vague but I guess someone trying to kill Potter as usual. Did I get it right?_

 _You should let your owl rest a little. Poor thing has been flying back and forth across the ocean too many times._

 _Alya_

* * *

 _Mia Cara,_

 _My owl is anything but poor. You've been stuffing him with owl treats, confess! I swear he gained weight instead of losing it from the long flights._

 _As for my conquests. I do not know what you are talking about. It's not my fault if women fall over for my handsome self and my charm. I'll have you know that I'm not in any relationship._

 _I don't want to alarm you but I'll give you the bare facts of what I learned last night at the third task, so you may be somewhat prepared before going home for the holidays._

 _Potter had been kidnapped in the maze by portkey and subjected to a ritual. Your father is resurrected. I am not aware of the specifics, not in what condition he currently finds himself. I'm sure that your father would be able to tell you more about it._

 _The good thing is that even though Dumbledore announced his return both at the tasks and at the feast today, the Ministry does not believe him and I know they are planning to slander him and Potter in the papers._

 _I don't want to assume anything but.. Are you alright with the knowledge? I know that you practically don't know him and.. well.. I just wanted to tell you that If you need someone to talk to, someone in no way linked to Him, you can count on me. I'll always be there._

 _Blaise_

* * *

 ** _So.. Voldemort is back.. what will happen now?_**


	8. Chapter 8

_Dear Blaise,_

 _Thank you so much for telling me. If I can be honest, I'm quite worried about meeting him. As you can have deduced by doing your math, I was born the year of his 'death'._

 _I'm not sure what happened to my carrier, but Regulus Black had vanished the previous year and everyone thought he died in the war._

 _Thing is.. My father does not know of my existence and that scares me. A lot._

 _What if he never wanted children? What if he is disappointed that I'm a girl? You know as well as me that many purebloods and Lords only want male heirs while the females are pushed to the sides, considered useless._

 _I'm not even sure how my parents were connected in reality. Were they just occasional lovers? Or was it a serious relationship?_

 _Honestly while I'm glad that he's alive once again, I feel so many conflicting emotions._

 _Part of me is like an excited little girl who can't wait to meet her daddy. While the other just wants to run away from the confrontation._

 _You must think I'm acting silly now._

 _Well, I won't have to worry about it for a while yet. Since I have to take my OWLs. The Academy works quite differently from your school and we don't take examinations during the school year. For OWLs and NEWTs we stay behind for an additional three weeks. It's a lot of time I know but you have to remember that we have many more subjects to test, especially me._

 _My headmaster couldn't believe me when I told him I wanted to take every class offered, he thought that there had been a mistake in the self-updating student system. In the end it'll take me the whole three weeks to complete all of my exams. I've stocked up with pepper up potions and chocolate._

 _I'm so stressed with all this mess that I'll probably look like a zombie once I go back home.. Merlin I can't even think about it now._

 _I hope Uncle Lucius will think ahead and warn my father about me before I get back home._

 _Pray for me._

 _Alya_

* * *

 _Mia Cara,_

 _Believe it or not, I can understand perfectly what you're going through. I felt the exact same way when I had to meet my paternal grandfather for the first time. See, my parents were not married when I was conceived and my father died before they had the chance to._

 _My mother was so devastated by his death that she couldn't stand the thought of meeting with his family and tell them about me. I was the only thing she had left of the man she loved and she wanted me all for herself, at least for a while._

 _I could understand her feelings, but when the time came for Grandfather to know about me and for me to meet him, I was a real mess of nerves._

 _I was excited, I was curious but most of all I was terrified that he would cast me aside as the bastard child that I am._

 _If there is someone who can understand you, it's me. You're not being silly, you're just human._

 _I was lucky and my grandfather was overjoyed that the family wouldn't die with him, that my father still lived through me. He went as far as legitimize me and make me the official heir of his family._

 _I won't make you any promises I can't keep or tell you that it will surely go well. Unfortunately I do not know the man or how he will react. What I can promise is that whatever happens, I will be by your side._

 _I know that it's difficult but you must try and keep a calm head, especially since it's an important period for you given your exams. Try and be serene, worrying is useless and will only damage you in the end._

 _I hope I was able to reassure you, at least a little.  
_

 _Remember I'm just an owl away._

 _Blaise_

* * *

 _Dear Blaise,_

 _Your words reassured me. Knowing that what I'm going through, what I'm feeling, is normal and not me going mental, is already a great help._

 _I'm glad that it went so well for you, I can't imagine the pain your mother went through. To lose the man you love must be horrible. You must be very proud of her, for being so strong and carrying you all alone, raising you to be such a fine person. Not many women would be able of such a feat in our world._

 _Pureblood princesses are too spoiled and delicate to suffer any kind of loss or face such trials._

 _I tried writing to Uncle Lucius, asking him if he had spoken to Him about me, but so far I haven't received an answer yet. I'm starting to think that the anxiety of having to wait so long is worse than the fear of the actual meeting._

 _I'm halfway through my exams now and I'm not sure how I was able to keep focused and not make a mess of them all. Must be my stubbornness and fixation of doing everything perfectly._

 _I must cut this letter short as I'm too exhausted to keep my eyes open._

 _I will let you know how it goes with my father._

 _Thank you for your support._

 _Alya_

* * *

Alya sighed looking around her room making sure that everything was packed safely away in her trunk. She almost wished to be one of those messy people, then she would have an excuse to triple check everything and put off her departure just for a little while longer.

Uncle Lucius had written just the night before, to tell her that he had been unable to speak with her father due to his volatile temper since his resurrection. He didn't go into details but she deduced it was because someone messed up real bad and then Potter escaped again alive.

She didn't know if to be sympathetic with her uncle given the unpredictability of her father's temper or be angry with him for leaving her the arduous task.

Shaking herself off her pessimistic thoughts she squared her shoulders. She was the daughter of the Dark Lord Voldemort and Regulus Arcturus Black. She was the Dark Princess. And she would act as such.

If her father didn't like her… well, it was his loss. And she would make him regret it.

Clutching her portkey tight in her fist she breathed deeply and spoke the activation word.

Her world spun for what seemed an endless time before she fell hard on her feet in the foyer of Malfoy Manor. Intercontinental portkeys were the worst.

Looking around she was surprised that no one was there to greet her, not even Draco. Sure, she had failed to tell them that she would be back today, but they knew to expect her within the week. Huffing a bit she called for an elf to take her trunk and unpack all her belongings. That done she ventured in search of someone.

After an hour she was still walking around the manor, felling extremely frustrated and no sign of life, house elves excluded, in sight.

She crossed her arms angrily, repressing the urge to stomp her feet like a child throwing a tantrum and headed for her bedroom. They could be the ones to find her then, she was tired and wanted to sleep.

* * *

Insistent shaking woke her from her deep slumber.

"Wha?"

"No time to talk, Alya. You need to dress and pack your things."

"Aunty? What are you saying? I just came back" She protested

"I know, sweety. But… Lucius spoke with the Dark Lord. He doesn't believe a word he said. He is sure that he has no children and thinks you must be some imposter. He even refused to see the results of the blood test the giblins performed." Narcissa said quickly, already packing all her belongings, leaving no trace of her existence behind. "I fear you may be in danger if you stay."

"Why?" she cried "This is my home!"

"Oh, love.. This will always be your home and you will always be part of our family. We love you." Narcissa reassured her, enveloping her in her arms "We're just afraid for your safety."

"But I don't understand why"

"I don't either sweetheart" the woman sighed "I told Lucius time and time again to speak with the Dark Lord, but he put it off until the last minute. No one can expect him to accept it right away, everyone would need time to assimilate the information. The long years spend as a spirit must have been hard on him too."

"And I need to leave"

"Only for a short while. As soon as he is ready to accept it you will come back"

"And if he doesn't?"

"He will.. I'm sure he will" even though the woman tried to be optimistic and strong, Alya could feel the insecurity and fear in her voice.

"Where will I go?"

Narcissa sighed in despair "Lucius is looking through his contacts trying to find someone we can trust with you"

Alya could almost hear the 'but there's no one' at the end of the statement.

She took a deep breath and for the second time that day, she gathered all her strength.

"I know where to go. Please tell Uncle Lucius not to worry about it. I just need to make a floo call"

"Are you sure my dear?"

"Yes"

"All right. I will leave you to it, then. Just.. be quick"

As soon as her Aunt left the room, Alya felt her body shaking all over. Repressing a sob, she went to her fireplace and threw some powder in the flames.

"Zabini Manor!"

"Si?" 'Yes?'asked a small elf in italian. From the informality he addressed her, Alya deduced that the Zabinis gave her floo address to very few people.

"Devo parlare con Blaise. Digli che è urgente" 'I need to speak with Blasie. Tell him it's urgent'

"Chi devo annunciare, signorina?" 'Who do I announce, Miss?'

"Alya Black"

The elf's head disappeared and she tapped her fingers on the floor, anxiously waiting.

"Alya? What's wrong, cara?" 'dear' Blaise's head finally appeared in the fireplace

"Oh, Blaise. Everything is wrong!" she cried, forcing back the tears "I need a place to stay… Could I..?"

"Of course! You don't even have to ask, of course you can stay with me!" he reassured her

"Really?"

"Really. Are you coming through now?"

"I need to say goodbye to Uncle Lucius and Draco.. and reassure Aunt Narcissa that I'll be fine"

"That's alright. I'll open the wards for you and leave the floo open. The password is 'Spettro'. Don't forget it, I don't want to scrape you off the floors with a sponge"

"Don't worry. I'll see you in ten minutes"

Rising too her feet and dusting her knees, even though she had knelt on the carpet, she went to find her family.

They were all huddled together in Lucius' study. As soon as they saw her, she was enveloped in three pairs of arms. She relished in the feel of it, memorizing the warmth and the sensation it evoked in her. She refused to let tears fall. She had never cried in front of them and she surely would not start now. No matter how leaving them was hurting her.

"I made arrangements and I am ready to leave" she informed them, detangling herself from their clutches.

"Where will you be going?" asked Lucius

"Somewhere safe"

"Alya"

"No Uncle. If _He_ doesn't want me then he has no right to know where I am by reading your minds, or forcing you to reveal it"

"Dear, we need to know that you'll be safe though" Narcissa tried to reason with her

"No. Just know that I trust this person and I'll be safe." She shook her head

"Will you write me?" Draco asked resigned to the knowledge that he was going to lose his sister, possibly for a long time

"Of course, I will" she promised with a shaky voice "I'll use my personal elf to deliver my letters"

"I'll miss you, little sister"

"I'll miss you too, big brother"

* * *

 **Not what you were expecting eh? But really for Voldy to accept his supposed daughter with open arms as if nothing was wrong would have been quite unlikely. Not only he's pretty insane on a good day but he just recovered his body with a potion that Pettigrew surely botched up and he spent ten years as a spirit, must be tough on anyone.**

 **As always thank you to everyone who added the story to their favourite or alert lists and left a review!**

 **Next Chapter, tomorrow!**


	9. Chapter 9

Alya fell gracelessly out of the fireplace and right into the arms of Blaise Zabini.

Instead of stepping away from him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hiding her face into his chest, she cried.

Blaise tightened his hold on her, enveloping her in his embrace, almost trying to hide her away and protect her from all the word. He let her cry, rubbing her back gently and speaking soothingly in her ear and randomly kissing her head.

It took the poor girl almost forty minutes to cry herself into exhaustion. When the uncontrollable crying stopped and all that remained were quiet sniffles, he bent his knees and hooking an arm behind her legs, he swung her up in his arms.

He could feel her tears wetting his skin, where her face was now tucked in the crook of his neck. Slowly, as to not jostle her too much, he walked out of the floo room and towards the first sitting room in his path.

Sitting in the long and comfortable sofa, he placed her in his lap and leaned back, waiting for her to be ready to talk. After a couple of minutes, he thought better and called for an elf to bring them some hot chocolate and cookies.

As soon as the elf popped away he could feel some movement from the petite girl.

"I'm so sorry.." she whispered from her hiding place. He could feel her fist clutching the back of his button down shirt.

"Shh. There's no need to apologize" he whispered back, as if afraid she would close back up if he spoke any louder

"I acted like a crazy hysterical.. thing." she protested weakly "I cried all over you, probably ruined your shirt"

"Who cares about the shirt?" he scoffed "You can cry all over my entire wardrobe if that will make you feel better."

"Thank you"

"You're welcome"

"No. I really mean it." She insisted "Thank you for allowing me to stay, thank you for dealing with my crazy self and for being so understanding. I don't know what I would have done without you. I had nowhere else to go"

"I'm glad I was able to help you. I told you already that I would have been by your side if anything were to happen and I meant every word. You don't need to thank me"

His only response was a quiet sniffle and a nod against his neck.

"How would you feel about some chocolate, mh?" he tried "You must have had a long and horrible day."

"Alright"

He gently coaxed her arms to release their iron tight hold on him before handling her a mug. He still kept her on his lap though. He didn't want her to be any farther away from him that she would be now to drink.

Looking at her like this, she seemed a completely different person from the fiery girl he met that day at the manor, the same one who ripped Draco a new one; the scary, and sexily so, little goddess who exuded such power. Gone was that girl and in her place was now a scared and vulnerable little kitten.

It made all of his protective instincts flare up. He was ready to lock her away in his manor to protect her, to kill anyone who dared to reduce her in such a state. She had to simply say the word and he would comply with her every demand.

"Come on, kitten. Drink some chocolate, you'll feel better" he encouraged her, caressing her wet cheek with the back of his finger.

She hummed and took a small sip.

They went on like this until she managed to drink half the cup, before he took it away and guided her to lean back down on his chest, her head resting on his shoulder.

He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again she was asleep.

Quietly he called for the elf again and ordered him to prepare the guest room for Alya, having been too worried to do it earlier when she first called.

Slowly and carefully he got on his feet, keeping a secure hold on his precious cargo.

He was walking up the stair when he crossed paths with his mother.

The elegant woman arched a sculptured eyebrow at her son, never in her years expecting him to go around with a sleeping female in his arms with such ease. She knew that people believed her boy to be a Casanova, a womanizer, but in reality he held love on a pedestal.

It was probably her fault, with her numerous lovers and marriages, but Blaise wanted _The One_ and no one else. He might flirt lightly with every woman he meets, but he wouldn't settle for anything less than True Love. Incredibly romantic, if not a bit naïve in her opinion. Years of pain and loneliness jaded her and made her distrust the idea that such kind of love existed.

Blaise mouthed 'I'll explain' to her before continuing on his way to the guest room.

He gently lowered Alya on the bed and covered her with the blankets. He sighed at the sight of her, with puffy eyes, red nose and curled tight on the bed. Before he realized he was even moving he was removing a lock of ebony hair form her face and caressing her from temple to chin.

* * *

When Alya woke up next she found herself in an unfamiliar room. It took her a moment to remember the events of the day before. Feeling her chest hurting and a new flood of tears threatening to spill, she got up from the bed and headed to the attached bathroom and took a long warm shower.

The water cascading on her body relaxed all her stiff muscles and cleared the fog from her mind. She still wanted to cry her heart out but she would not. She was stronger than that and it was time to show it. Yesterday she had broken down with Blaise, not even realizing that she had grown to trust him so much. She had refused to show any kind of vulnerability to her family even after years of being with them, while Blaise had managed to get past her walls in mere months. Unbelievable.

Removing her trunk form the pocket of the skirt she wore the day before, she took out fresh clothes and got dressed. Then she went in search of the boy who comforted with such care and gentleness when she was at her lowest. She blushed a bit thinking about it and how she was so closely wrapped around him.

Walking down the long marble corridors she admired the art displayed on the walls. Whomever chose the pieces had very good taste. The peaceful and colorful landscapes were reminiscent of a dream, the portraits of graceful ballerinas, pretty girls of noble origin or even the peculiar traits of the Japanese art. Every once in a while she would see a painting representing a battle or a proud warrior. It was all so beautiful.

The difference with her home was staggering. While Malfoy Manor resembled a museum with his opulent show of wealth, Zabini Manor was warm and inviting even with all the priceless beauty of its art.

"Buon giorno, Bella Addormentata" 'Good morning, Sleeping Beauty'

She turned on her heels, startled by the deep voice at her back and she found herself frozen and blushing madly.

Blaise was there, dressed only in a pair of sweatpants running low on his hips, his bare torso glistened with sweat and his hair was messy from whatever workout he just finished. 'Running' she reminded herself 'he liked running early morning'. She had always known he was handsome, but he looked even more so now.

She had failed to get a look at him the previous day but she could see it now. He was taller, having hit a grow spurt during the school year, and he was nicely muscled for a boy his age. Not bulky, but the kind of muscles that made you want to trace them with your fingers.

She mentally slapped herself for the thought, not believing that she was even able to think such a thing.

Maybe the hormones were catching up to her. Her aunt would say that it was high time it happened, but she found herself incredibly embarrassed.

"You alright?" he asked tilting his head to the side.

'Had his voice always been so deep and husky?' she thought

"Fine." She said quickly, repressing any squeaking noise that wanted to get out of her throat "You just scared me"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to"

Dear Mother of Merlin, didn't he realize the effect he had on her? She was practically self-combusting on the floor and didn't even have the grace to put on a shirt!

She nodded, unsure of how many words she would be able to say without dying of humiliation.

"Are you hungry?" he asked "I'll have the elves prepare breakfast on the terrace. The weather is lovely." He continued "Just give me ten minutes to shower"

"Sure"

Blaise smirked. He was trying hard to be courteous and ignore the way she was ogling him and blushing but she was making it so very difficult. Not only her reaction was flattering and a great stroke to his male ego, but seeing her so affected by him relieved him.

He knew that she was the kind of girl that was hard to get, but seeing so little response to his flirting in her letters, made him doubt himself and think that maybe she didn't like him at all. Maybe she just blushed easily or something.

Seeing her now, though, he knew that she definitely liked him. It couldn't be just shyness.

"Why don't I call an elf to show you to the terrace while I make myself presentable?" he proposed taking pity on her.

"Thank you"

* * *

Alya kept her head lowered, intent on studying her breakfast for the time being. She felt so silly but after what happened mere minutes earlier she just couldn't bring herself to face him.

Why of all times, why start now acting like such a girl?

Blaise pursed his lips, it was no good if she finally showed a little interest in him only to close back up right after.

"How did your OWLs go?" asked, deeming her exams a safe topic

"Oh. Well I think. I will receive the results in a week or so, maybe a little more since I have tested so many subjects"

"What do you think was your best subject?"

"Dueling, definitely. Though Spell crafting comes a close second along with potions"

Blaise whistled impressed "Spell crafting is extremely difficult and dangerous"

"It can be, if you don't know what you're doing or if you don't take the necessary precautions. I like it though"

"And your worst?" he smirked

Alya pouted "Divination" she said in distaste "To qualify for the program I have to take _all_ subjects, including that useless crap. It ruins my record"

He let out a deep belly laugh at that "I don't envy you. If your divination teacher is anything like ours it must be awful. I refused to take the class but Draco says that she is a drunk old bat who likes to predict student's deaths."

"Oh, he told me about her" she nodded "I can't believe it. Ours maybe be loony and likes to talk in riddles but at least she tries to teach and make us understand the ramifications of her subject, as useless as it might be"

He chuckled at her final statement, happy that he was able to get her to be comfortable with him once again.

"What electives did you take?" She asked

"Ancient Runes and Arithmancy" he answered "If Dumbledore hadn't banned them decades ago, I would have probably taken Alchemy and Dueling too"

"And people wonder why Hogwarts fell off her pedestal of best school. The difference between the list of subject offered a century ago and the ones available now is staggering. Dumbledore slowly removed them from the curriculum and people don't even know about them now. The ministry too, what the hell did they think banning entire branches of magic just because muggleborns are squeamish about it or just plain ignorant?"

"That or they didn't want people to use such powerful magics when they aren't able to do the same"

"That too" she agreed

Alya finally took a look at her surroundings. From the terrace she could see the shimmering golden beach and the crystal waters of the sea, off to one side there were a group of cliffs while on the other it was full of greenery and trees.

"It's so beautiful here" she whispered

"It is, isn't it?" he smiled leaning back against his chair "This is the manor my father bought for him and my mother. He was never able to show it to her, she learned about it only when we met grandfather and then insisted it be put down on my name."

Alya looked at him sensing there was more to his words

He smiled sadly "She had never been able to stay here for more than two days straight. Too many memories and thoughts, I think. As for me, I love it here. It makes me feel close to him and it's so peaceful. This is where I usually live and spend my time off school while mother is off somewhere else with her husbands"

"You mean that you live here alone? That this is all yours?"

"Yes." Seeing her look of shock he elaborated "Mother is very caring with me and considers me her greatest treasure, but she is in a constant state un unrest, it seems to get worse the older I get. After I met Grandfather I would usually spend half a year with him and half with Mother. During the time alone she got used to living a certain kind of life, with less responsibilities and more freedom. I could see that it was hard for her to go back between taking care of me and being the frivolous woman her husbands expected her to be. So, when I was twelve I convinced her to let me live here. She was reluctant to agree but an army of house elves looking after me and the promise that both her and Grandfather could check up anytime they wanted made her cave."

"Part of me envies you" She admitted quietly staring at her hands in her lap.

"There are pros and cons, to living alone. It gets awfully lonely at times.."

"At least you won't ever risk being thrown out of what you considered your home because your father refused to recognize you and may be a danger to your life" she whispered

Blaise sighed deeply. He had wanted to believe things would go well for her, as it had for him. "I'm sorry, cara."

She smiled weakly "Not your fault."

"Come on." He encouraged rising to his feet and offering his hand to the girl "Let's take a walk on the beach. It's on the must do list, when you go to Italy" he said mock seriously.

"Sur.. Wait, did you say Italy?"

"Of course. Did you think I would spend my holidays in gray rainy England when I have a beautiful manor on the coast of Italy?" he scoffed "And wait until I show you the rest. I'll make this the best holiday you ever had" he promised.

"I look forward to it" She said with a big smile, laying her hand in his larger tanned one.

* * *

 **Blaise is slowly proving to Alya that he's a keeper, I'll say. I would certainly keep him... Cough..**


	10. Chapter 10

A week passed quickly. It was the best time Alya ever had. The Manor was a thove of treasures; she could spend hours contemplating the beauty of the paintings, combing through every tome in the vast library or admiring the statues or trinkets spread all over.

The grounds of the property were no less attracting, with the lush gardens full of blooming flowers, the warm beach and refreshing sea; just about everything helped put her in a state of serenity and peace of mind.

Gone were her worries and pain, she could only enjoy the moment. And enjoy she did.

Blaise had been her anchor in the storm the raged inside her heart and mind. Many times when she found herself on the brink of tears he would distract her and pull her along with him somewhere in the property, every time showing her something new that she would love. He made her laugh and relax, for the first time in her life she felt safe enough to act her age and be silly. She had always been serious and guarded. With Draco she was able to let go a little, to show him her love and share her thoughts with him, but never completely. She knew that Draco was aware of it and he understood, given her difficult childhood. But Blaise, he smashed her walls to pieces and left her bare and whole for the first time.

And she loved it.

It felt so freeing and simple. A part of her wished she could hide here forever and never leave. But she was not a little girl lost in her dreams, she was responsible and mature, she knew that once the summer was gone she would have to go back to the real world.

"Sickle for your thoughts?" A husky voice breathed in her ear

Alya squealed in fright jumping high in the air and tripping on her own feet as she tried to turn.

Blaise steadied her with his hands on her waist before laughing deeply.

She swatted him it the chest pouting "You horrible person! You don't scare a girl like this!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were so lost in your head"

"You do it too many times for me to keep forgiving you, Mister" she sniffed haughtily

He smirked before taking hold of her hand and bowing low "Your humble servant begs forgiveness, my beautiful princess"

She raised a brow at him, trying very hard to keep the blush down "I may forgive you this time.. if you bring me chocolates" she finished with a smirk

"Your sweet tooth knows no bounds" he chuckled

"Just like your stomach" she rebutted

"Hey, I'm a growing boy! And I need a lot of calories with all the training I do" He protested. She hummed sarcastically, but she knew that he was right. Not only he was growing, he was already a lot taller than last year, but he really trained hard. She had taken to go running with him in the morning and even though she was pretty fit, already exercising at the Academy, she was ready to collapse by the end of it. And after that sometimes he went to his gym or he trained hours with his swords, other times they dueled together. She knew that a couple of times a week he trained with his martial arts teacher too. The boy couldn't stay still a minute, it was no surprise he ate like a starved man.

"Just make sure you don't get fat" she taunted him patting his stomach. She retracted her hand quickly though when she came in contact with his abs. Sweet Morgana, what was this boy doing to her?

He was just about to make a pervy comment when the elf popped in, interrupting them

"Misty sorry to disturb, owl bring letter for Miss" the elf said holding the envelope to her

"Thank you"

"What is it?" He asked

"My results" she said anxiously

"Go on, then open it"

"Alright, alright" she broke the seal with a shaking hand and unfolding the letter she began to read.

"What does it say?"

She gave him a brilliant smile, making his heart skip a bit, before she threw her arms around his neck and jumped hugging him. On reflex he caught her around the waist keeping her close to him, with her feet not touching the ground.

"I did it! I have all O's! I did it!" she chanted.

He chuckled at her childlike enthusiasm, happy to see her so content "Congratulations, cara"

"Thank you" she smiled "um, think you can let me down now?" she asked shyly

He lowered her, waiting for her feet to be firmly planted on the ground before releasing his hold "I say we celebrate"

"Celebrate?"

"Yes, go change. We're going out" he said, giving her a gentle swat on her bottom.

She squeaked in embarrassment, quickly running away from him and his grabby hands, making him laugh loudly.

* * *

People turned at the sight of the fashionably dressed handsome young man, with black wavy hair, tan complexion and confined stride; and his date, a pretty woman in a white summer dress with pale blue flowers on the skirt, with long ebony hair that flew around her frame in big curls and alabaster skin, walking by his side. They made a beautiful couple.

"Where are we?" she asked looking around curiously.

"This is the small village near the Manor. They usually hold a little market in its streets with typical foods, local crafts, antiques.. this kind of thing." He explained "I find it quaint and sometimes you can find really interesting things."

"I see." She said with bright eyes. Alya liked to collect a number of different things, some of her pieces were now proudly displayed in the room Blaise deemed hers, like her collection of glass figures and a number of dragon miniatures carved from precious stones that Draco gifted her each year and her favorite painting.

She had been reluctant to unpack all of her things, to make it her room, but Blaise had insisted, saying that whenever she needed it, it would be her room, for as long as she wanted. So she caved.

"But first, breakfast" he announced, placing his palm against the small of her back and guiding her towards a little café in the corner of the street.

Alya inhaled deeply, smelling the sweet smell of fresh pastries, coffee and much more.

Entering the small shot Blaise looked like he was at home.

"Buon Giorno!" he greeted

"Oh, Buon Giorno!" 'Oh Good morning!' The old woman behind the counted greeted him warmly "E chi è questa bella ragazza? Non mi starai nascondendo qualcosa, eh giovanotto?" 'And who is this beautiful girl? You aren't hiding something from me, right young boy?' she asked with her fist on her sides.

"Certo che no." 'Of course not' he replied placating the woman "Lei è Alya, una mia amica" 'She's Alya, a friend of mine'

"Solo amica? Che delusione" 'Just a friend? What a pity' the woman complained shaking her head.

Alya blushed vividly at her words, her traitorous mind imagining what it would be like to have Blaise as her boyfriend.

"I'm Gianna. I've known this boy for years and this is the first time he brings company" the woman said switching to an heavily accented English "What can I get you deary?"

"Um, a pleasure to meet you madam." Alya replied "I'll have a croissant and a cappuccino, please"

"Right away, honey. And for you?" she asked Blasie "The usual? Coffee, black; cream pastry and marmalade croissant?"

"You know me too well" he chuckled

"That I do. Go on, I'll bring everything to your table. You should sit outside, the weather is so nice" she said shooing them away.

"Bossy little woman" Blaise commented with a smile

"She looks like she cares about you, though"

"We're in Italy love. People are more.. open and welcoming." He said "Just let them know you for enough time and you'll become part of their family practically"

"It seems nice"

* * *

Walking around the various stands of the market, Alya was trying to look everywhere and absorb everything. She had done a little shopping, which Blaise insisted in carrying.

A warm hand enveloping her own halted her in her steps. She turned blinking at him and Blaise motioned around them with his head.

"It's starting to get crowded" he explained "Don't want to lose you"

"Oh, alright" she said, falling into step with him.

Just then, something caught her eye where there was a stand displaying a variety of little trinkets. She walked over and run her finger over one of the bracelets. It was a pretty silver chair in little sapphires charms.

A tan hand slipped it from underneath her hand and turned her, moving to clasp the piece around her wrist.

"Blaise? What are you doing?"

"I'm getting it for you" He replied "I missed your birthday after all. It's not every that a pretty girls turns fourteen."

"I never told you when my birthday is"

"No, but Draco did" he replied without missing a beat "fifteenth of December"

"You don't have to-" she stopped at the heated look in his eyes "Thank you, it's beautiful" she smiled looking at the delicate bracelet.

He smiled before paying for the purchase and leading them away from the stand.

Blaise turned his head sensing her staring intently at him "What?"

"You know mine, so It's only fair that you tell me when your birthday is"

He chuckled "You missed it. It was in March."

"Aww…"

"There, there" he cooed patting her head like small child and retracting quickly when she made to bite him "Feisty little thing you are."

"And don't you forget it"

"I won't! So, there's a nice restaurant a little ahead of here"

"Is food all you can think about?" she asked astonished

"No, but it's past noon, mia cara" 'my dear'

"Already? Time sure flew"

"So? Food?"

Now that he made her think about it she was actually pretty hungry "Food" she nodded.

* * *

 **Thank you for adding my story to your favourite or alert lists and for leaving a review!**


	11. Chapter 11

"No. Uh-uh. No way" Alya stated vehemently shaking her head.

"Why not?"

"Cause… just not"

"You'll have to give me a better answer, Missy"

"I've never done it"

"No problem. I'll show how it's done"

"What? No!"

"Why not? It's easy and everybody does it!" he insisted "You'll like it, I promise"

"Just because everyone does it, doesn't mean we will too!"

"You're so bloody stubborn, woman!"

"Yes, I bloody well am!"

"Merlin, it's not going to bite you!"

"I'm not getting anywhere near that!"

"Don't say 'That' with such a disgusted voice" he said "You make it sound dirty"

"No, don't say anything" He stopped her with a hand in front of him "You know what, I don't give a shit" he said, before hauling her on his shoulder like sack of potatoes and marching away from the door.

"NOOOO! Put me down, you Neanderthal!" she screamed punching his bare back "Help! Someone help me!"

"Will you stop it? There's no one here, and if there were they would think I was about to rape you!" he protested "Now be a good girl and shut up" he said smacking her bum.

Alya squeaked loudly "Hands off!" she ordered pinching his side with her long nails

"Oi! Enough! People will think I've been mauled by a tiger, too"

"Blaaaise!" she whined "Please, let me down! I'll do anything you want!"

"Nope. Not falling for it and since I have a prime view of your lovely backside, I'm not going to fall for your doe eyes either"

"Don't look at my bum!" She cried, growing more flustered and frustrated the nearer they got to their destination.

"Relax with you.." he sighed exasperated. Who knew she would be so difficult when he proposed it?

Without giving her any warning he dropped her.

Alya screamed from the fall before coming into contact with .. ice cold water.

"You bastard!" she sputtered wiping away the salty water from her eyes and pushing back her long hair "I can't believe you dropped me in the sea when I explicitly told you I can't swim and was scared to go!" she screamed

"Dolcezza" 'Sweetheart' he said quietly getting down on his haunches "if you would calm down for a moment, you'd realize that you're sitting and the water barely reaches your shoulders. I'm not an idiot who would drop you in deep water. Now put on your big girl panties and let's learn how to swim"

"I hate you" she pouted rising to her feet and blushing madly. She couldn't believe that he talked her into wearing a bikini. At least it was black and not white, she wouldn't put it past him to try and sneak a peek.

After two hours and a lot of gentle coaxing from Blaise, Alya was somewhat able to swim. In moderately deep water, with the calm sea and Blaise standing guard near her.

It was not her fault if she was afraid to drown.

The only good thing that came out to that exhausting morning, it was being able to ogle the boy to her heart's content.

She had somewhat come to terms with her crush by now, even though she was not ready to admit it out loud much less act upon it.

"You'll see" he said shaking his head like a dog to get rid of the sea water "By the time you go back to school I'll have you with a nice golden tan"

"If I don't burn like a lobster first" she pouted already feeling her skin itching uncomfortably "People with such fair skin like me shouldn't be under the sun so much"

"A bit of sunburn lotion and you'll be fine _and_ with a tan" he reassured her "You English people wouldn't know anything about how to get a tan" he teased her

* * *

Alya rested comfortably on her stomach on top of her bed. Blaise had been right and after applying the lotion she felt a lot better, her skin no longer itched and burned but felt cool and smooth.

Only after applying to her front she had realized that she would need help to do her back, so resigned he called Blaise to help her. She blushed madly the whole time, feeling his large warm hands running all over the skin of her back sent tingles down her spine and her tummy felt full of butterflies.

She put her hands on her cheeks felling the warmth still there even after ten minutes since he left.

Accioing parchment and quill, she decided to finally write to Draco.

She still felt hurt that they were so quick to pander to her father wishes and send her away, so she would only write to her cousin, after all he had no say in it all.

 _Dear Draco,_

 _I know you will probably be incredibly worried about me and angry it took me so long to write, but I needed time._

 _Knowing that your own father rejects you is hard enough, but being sent away from my home hurts just as much. I do not fault you, nor your parents, for what happened. Merlin knows how much you already did for me over the years and It would be awfully ungrateful of me to do otherwise. I know that they had only my safety in mind._

 _I hope things have not been too hard at the Manor, with my apparently unstable father and all._

 _Despite the circumstances I find myself really enjoying my time here. The place is so breathtakingly beautiful and full of little corners to explore._

 _You won't believe it but I even learnt how to swim today!_

 _Ok, it was not totally consensual but I had fun in the end, even if I got sunburnt._

 _I received my OWLs results too, I got all O's so I'll be able to keep taking all the subjects and hopefully if I do well enough in my NEWTs too I will be able to qualify for the Master of Magic special program._

 _Just send your reply back with Tilly._

 _Love you,_

 _Alya_

Sealing the envelope she called her personal house elf and sent her to the manor, with orders to deliver the letter only to Draco, preferably if he was alone.

* * *

"It seems that Potter can't stay out of trouble, not even out of school" Blaise commented holding the morning paper towards her

"What did he do?" She asked, her hands momentarily occupied with her cup of cappuccino and a soft buttery croissant. No way she was letting them go for a paper. Without her morning cup of caffeine she was untreatable. Draco liked to compare her to Medusa, complete with the serpents hair and petrifying glaze. Lucius once said that she truly was her father's daughter. Since arriving in Italy she had been careful with her intake of coffee, no need to scare the bloke away so soon.

"He performed magic in front of muggles and he is set to stand on trial"

"What the hell was he thinking?" she asked astonished. The statue of secrecy was already half a farce with so many muggleborns going back home and telling their parents and friends about it. If the Ministry started to make exceptions for Boy Wonder, their world was doomed.

"It was his third warning too. I know that the first time was after first year; a levitating cake or something but I found out that it was really Dobby's fault; the summer after that he blew up her aunt, like an air balloon.. wonder what it was this time"

"What an idiot" she sneered "As for Dobby, that elf always had a few missing screws"

"Indeed" he hummed "'I'm curious though. I think I will find the real reason"

"How do you get all this information no one knows?" she asked, not really expecting an answer

"I have my ways" he smirked "and if I told, well, it would be such a pity to kill you"

"Hilarious" she deadpanned biting her croissant "What is next? You're the new James Bond?"

He snorted in his cup of black coffee "Please, do I look like some goody goody Gryffindor to you?!"

* * *

 _Dear Alya,_

 _I should curse you for all the worry you_ caused me. A month! A fucking month before you deigned _yourself to write a fucking letter!  
I'm relieved that you are safe and apparently having the time of your life too, but I would feel so much better knowing where and who you are with. What if those people are untrustworthy? What if they take advantage of you? I can't even think about it…_

 _Things here are tense. Mother is brokenhearted, making you leave the Manor was like having her beloved daughter ripped away from her. You know how much she loves you, sometimes I think she likes you better than me. Father is walking on eggshells around the Manor, weary of the Dark Lord and what he might do._

 _As for your Father, he made himself pretty scarce I have to say. He would call Father and a few other death eaters every once in a while, but it's been pretty 'calm' considering._

 _He is apparently going on like you never existed or maybe he is pretty good at removing information he doesn't want to remember. I'm not sure._

 _This whole thing is absurd to me. If only he would look at the papers from the goblins he would know that you are his daughter, that it is all real._

 _Why would someone deny family is unconceivable to me._

 _Please don't make me wait another month to hear from you._

 _Love,_

 _Draco._

Alya sighed. So things were still the same. If it went on like this she would be homeless the next summer too. She wasn't sure how long she was willing to wait for her father to see the truth. Should she just give up and make a life for herself somewhere else, away from him? Or should she try and confront him on the matter?  
She had to admit that the second option was just a little suicidal, too much even for her tastes.

Throwing a pillow at the wall with an angry scowl she repressed the urge to scream like a madwoman. Why couldn't her life be simpler?!

She just wanted a family! Was it too much to ask? Did she have to pay for her father's sins or some rot like that? Was that the reason she was doomed to be miserable?

This line of thought was making her depressed and her head started to hurt something fierce. Falling back against the mountain of pillows on her bed, she decided to sleep.

Sleep and forget it all. Just for a little while.

* * *

 ***Whistles innocently* What? it's not my fault you thought they were going to do something else! It's was just some innocent swimming..**

 **Thanks to everyone who added the story to their favourite or alert lists and left a review.**

 **Just to warn you, soon I will start posting once a week only. If I keep updating everyday the story will be finished way too soon and I like having another one ready to be posted soon after I complete a story.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here is the new chapter! Happy Easter everyone!**

* * *

"Dementors" Blaise announced taking his seat on the terrace table in front of her.

"Good morning to you too. I slept splendidly thank you, and you?" she said sarcastically

"Yes, yes, good morning, bellissima" 'beautiful' he said

"Now, what were you saying about dementors?" she asked perplexed

"Potter. It seems that dementors attacked him in his muggle neighborhood" he explained "He sent them away with his patronus, but his muggle cousin was there too. Hence the trial for underage magic"

"What were dementors doing there? Was it my father who sent them?"

"Nope, my sources said that it was someone in the Ministry"

She blinked surprised

"He was lucky Dumbledore interrupted the farce of a trial Fudge had put on and saved his arse. But with all the slandering Dumbledore and Potter are getting from the Ministry and the papers, they should have expected something like this happening"

"This is so.. ridiculous."

"The Ministry is ridiculous." Blaise corrected her "That and Hogwarts"

"Speaking of school.. I need to buy my supplies for the coming year" Alya mused

"Me too. We could go today, there won't be a lot of crowds this early. Somehow they all wait the last minute to go shopping and add the muggleborns visiting for the first day, Diagon Alley in late August is madness."

"I've never been to Diagon Alley" she whispered somewhat sadly.

"Never?" he asked surprised

"No, never. Uncle Lucius said it was too dangerous for me to be seen anywhere in Great Britain. So they always did my shopping for me. The few times I was allowed to go, it was in Paris only"

"That's.. stupid" he deadpanned, making her look at him with wide eyes

"A little glamour and no one would have recognized you" he said "Merlin if they made you blonde they could even pretend you were their own daughter!"

She blinked. Many times she had thought the same things, it would have been so easy for her to go out and mingle with the rest of their world then. But Lucius always dismissed it, saying that she was too young and didn't know what she was saying. That a glamour would do them no good.

The question then was: was she being too naïve and reckless or had he been too proud to admit he was wrong? Or maybe too strict in keeping her hidden?

"Go on, finish your breakfast" Blaise said "We're going to Diagon right after"

* * *

"Are you sure I shouldn't put on a glamour?" Alya asked clutching Blaise's foreharm in her hands

"I'm sure, Tesoro" 'darling' he reassured her "Britain is an hour behind Italy, so by the time we get there, the shops will just be opening. I can assure you that there's very few people around that early in the morning. I hate shopping with crowds, so I always do like this. Plus, it's not like you have a sign stuck on your forehead saying 'Dark Lord's daughter, beware!'" he said

She wanted to smile, recalling that she had screamed something exactly like that to her Uncle when he refused to take her to the World Cup along with everyone else.

"Alright, I trust you"

"Wonderful!" He cheered "Now, we need to floo to the Leaky Cauldron"

"Um, Blaise?" she interrupted him "I'm not very good with floo" she admitted

"How come?" usually pureblood children were taught how to use the floo connection from a very early age, so they would not make a spectacle of themselves in public

Alya shrugged "Not going out much, you know?"

He sighed. For all they cared and loved Alya, the Malfoys could be so stupid sometimes.

"Alright, we'll go together then" he decided "Just hold on tight to me and keep your eyes and mouth closed" he instructed, walking in the fireplace and placing her arms around his waist before hugging her to him.

Alya closed her eyes, tucking her face against the cool silk of his shirt, a light dusting of red gracing her cheeks. For his part, Blaise reveled in the chance to have her so close to him, he inhaled deeply, her sweet strawberry and vanilla smell filling his senses.

Throwing the powder in the flames he called for their destination, preparing himself to land. It was only thanks his good balance and strength that he managed to keep them both upright instead of barreling on the floor or against some table.

"Here we are" he announced "Come on the Alley is this way" he said guiding her to the back on the pub "Mind the trash"

"Eww" she shuddered at the overflowing rubbish bin stowed in the corner, edging closer to the older teen.

Once the bricks opened though, she was fascinated by the sight. For a moment she could imagine how muggleborns felt when entering their world for the first time.

"Picturesque right?" he asked "And wait until I show you the Italian magical alleys!"

"I honestly don't know where to look" she admitted "I wish I had five more pair of eyes"

Blaise let out a deep laugh "Don't worry, Tesoro. We have all the time to explore every nook and cranny." He promised with a smile.

Their first stop was the robe shop. Apparently Blaise had outgrown his school robes and needed new ones.

"Mr. Zabini! Good morning!" Madam Malkin greeted them "What can I do for you?"

"I need two sets of new robes" He said, adding quietly to Alya "No need to waste more money if I'm going to shot up like a weed again"

"Of course, of course" she said ushering him forward to take his measurements "And who is this pretty lady? Hogwarts too, deary? You look familiar, somehow. Are you related to .. let me see…"

"Mi scusi. Non parlo inglese" 'I'm sorry, I don't speak english' she said shooting a worried look to Blasie

"Madam Malkin, this is a friend of mine from Italy. I rather doubt that you've seen her or her relatives before" he said smiling.

"Oh? If you say so. I must be mistaken, so many people passing through and age must be catching up to me" the woman laughed "So, out for a date?"

Alya did her best to ignore the woman and not blush, busying herself with looking around the shop. Blaise laughed at her reaction, even though the shop keeper took it for a confirmation

"Such a cute couple you make" she cooed "Did you announce the engagement yet? Oh, maybe you are still courting! I remember when I was your age…"

As soon as Blaise was done paying, she pulled him out of the shop quickly, her face flaming red

"Crazy old gossipy woman" she muttered while the boy laughed amused

"Ow, come on! Is that the way to treat your boyfriend? I need that arm you know?" he asked trying to repress his chuckled

"Shut up!" she snapped "And you didn't even deny or correct her! You made her go on and on about it!"

"It was funny" he shrugged

"You mean it was funny to watch me slowly die of embarrassment" she grumbled stomping ahead of him

"Calm down, tigre" 'tiger'

Their next stop was for writing supplies. They both stocked up on parchment, quills and inks. Alya bought several diaries she used to fill with her notes too, a new carving kit for ancient runes and wards classes and lastly a planner otherwise she would be driven crazy from all the different lessons and sheer amount of work to do for her NEWTs.

Stopping at Flourish they combed through the shelves trying to find books among the clutter. Unfortunately Alya wasn't able to buy her course books, like always she had to wait until school began when the teachers would hand them out. In many countries the subjects they studied were banned or the books couldn't be found, so they had decided that all students would receive the materials together on the first day of the class, the cost included in the year fees.

It irritated her something fierce, being unable to read ahead on her work during the summer, but there was nothing she could do apart from trying to find additional books on her own to study. It usually worked, giving her a basic knowledge of the material, so she must be doing something right.

She rifled through Blaise's school books, wrinkling her nose

"I know, useless crap." He said quietly "It's mostly for show, I have my own things to study from"

"Good. You're too smart to be forced to study this little kids books" she said convinced making him laugh

"Wait until I tell you who's the new DADA teacher" he whispered "Dolores Umbrisge"

"Who? The pink toad that always follows Fudge like a lost puppy?"

"The very same." He nodded "look at the book she choose. Next she'll treat us like little kids and tell us that using a wand is too dangerous"

"You just jinxed it" she stated, making him blink and then curse in Italian.

Alya giggled, happy that she didn't have to deal with so much drama at the Academy, skipping towards the apothecary. Just like the books, they received prepared kits from their Master and were allowed to use school stores for the potions they made during lessons, but she liked to have her kit full and prepare every kind of potion she could need during the year. Pepper ups, bruise salves, pain relievings and nutrient potions were a must. The last one was to help her stay healthy.

She studied entirely too much, a lot of times what she ate wasn't enough to sustain her with all the energies she expended using magic and dueling, sometimes she had to admit that she was so taken by her assignments or studies that she just forgot to eat so she needed to make it up somehow.

Brewing her own potions meant that she would always have them on hand, without wasting time going to the hospital wing to ask for them, she just needed to show them to the Potion Master or resident Healer to approve of them and she would even get additional credits for them. It was a win win situation for her.

They stopped at Florean Fortescue for some ice cream once their shopping was all done. They decided to share a sundae, since she wasn't too hungry and he could easily finish the rest alone.

While sitting outside the shop, sharing their sweet treat, Alya couldn't stop her mind from recalling the words Madam Malkin said that morning. If this was a real date, she could easily say she would have enjoyed it. But it wasn't a date, though she almost wished otherwise.

It was difficult to understand the boy in front of her sometimes. He acted all flirty with her, making her think that he liked her, but it never went anywhere. She almost pouted at her own thoughts.

Why did boys have to be so difficult? Either he liked her or he didn't! He should make up his mind, she decided.

Laden with bags, metaphorically since they were all shrunk and safely tucked in Blaise's pockets, they decided it was time to go back home before the Alley go too crowded.

Just like earlier, she wrapped herself around him for the trip, a traitorous part of her brain imagining they were going back from a date and that maybe he would kiss her goodbye.

* * *

 **And.. wait for it... Cause there's a another chapter right after. A little special treat for Easter.**


	13. Chapter 13

Saying goodbye to Blaise had been more difficult that she imagined it would be. For the last two weeks of summer he had taken her sightseeing, never venturing too far away from the manor; they went to the movies, to the village fair, they even attended the show of a wandering circus that stopped nearby. Her favorite moments were the simpler ones though, when they would take long walks on the beach and talk about everything and nothing or when they would both settle on the couch reading in peace.

She had grown so comfortable with him that she even spoke about her past. She didn't venture in to deep, but she shared that she grew up in an orphanage and that they weren't very kind with her. She hadn't said anything more but from the fire and anger in his eyes she could tell than he had an idea, as vague as it may be, of what she went through.

Seeing him so furious on her behalf made her feel warm inside. For her, who grew up unloved and mistreated, certain that no one would ever want her or care, it meant the world seeing that there was someone instead. Someone who wanted her and someone who cared. In that moment, when she couldn't count or rely on the small family she found for herself, Blaise was that someone. _Her_ someone.

The morning of her departure she tried very hard to show a strong front, but a couple of tears still escaped her. Blaise had smiled gently, wiping the tears with his thumbs while framing her face with his hands.

"Hey, don't cry. We can keep writing each other while at school" he reassured her, her smile watery.

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart" he said "Who knows maybe you'll be stuck with me next summer too. I could take you to Florence and Rome. You would love the sights and the art"

"Don't be so casual about it. Chances are I'll be banned from the Manor, still"

"Their loss, my gain" he stated

"I'll miss you" she said hugging him one last time and clutching the small portkey set to activate in mere moments.

"I'll miss you too" he whispered as she took a step back, the portkey already glowing "Amore" 'love'. His last word was lost as she vanished from sight, leaving him alone. Sighing deeply he turned to the fireplace headed to the Station to take the Hogwarts Express for another year of madness.

* * *

Alya sighed staring out of her bedroom window. She was already exhausted and it was only the first week of school. On the other hand, Blaise had kept his promise and wrote already. She had a letter from Draco too. Pursing her lips she decided to read her cousin's first.

 _Dear Alya,_

 _Hogwarts is a madhouse as usual. The new teacher for Defence is Dolores Umbridge, a pink wearing monster of a toad. This school is getting worse and worse each passing day. Why couldn't I attend Drumstrang?_ _ **!**_

 _On a different note. Do you know that Blaise is engaged or betrothed or whatever?! News spread pretty fast this summer. Apparently he has been seen with his girl in Diagon Alley the past month and you know how fast gossip travel. They say it's a pretty brunette with golden skin and blue eyes. Lucky sod._

 _The bastard refuses to talk about it though. Can you believe it? I'm his best friend and he didn't even tell me that he was in a contract or courting!_

 _Mother heard about it too and now she's pestering me to find a pretty girl of good family and court her. Of course Pansy attached herself to me like some kind of pug faced octopus. Urgh._

 _Before I forget, Mother sends her love and the box with .. I don't know what's inside and with the risk of it being something feminine, I don't want to know either. Father keeps asking me to find out where you spent the summer, fat chance I'll tell him even if I knew._

 _I miss you sister,_

 _Draco_

* * *

Grabbing parchment and quill she set to reply right away, best take advantage of the moment before she became too tired to even see clearly the words.

 _Dear Draco,_

 _She sounds like a dreadful woman, I do not envy you. And you are right, you would have done so much better in Drumstrang. I can't fault Aunt Narcissa for wanting her son close or Uncle Lucius for wanting you to make connections but there are other ways to go at it, they should have thought of your education firstly. Trying to study a year worth of material in the two summer months of holiday you get is not healthy nor good. Either you forget half of what you learnt or you get only the basics at best._

 _I do not know anything about this rumors concerning your friend. Ever thought it could be just that? A rumor?_

 _Thank Aunt Narcissa for me and tell Uncle Lucius that it's useless to insist._

 _I'm sorry to keep this short, but my desk is crying under the workload I already accumulated._

 _Love,_

 _Alya_

* * *

Carefully folding it, she put the letter inside the envelope and called for her elf to deliver it. That done, she read Blaise's letter.

 _Mia Cara,_

 _It's only been a week but I find myself already missing you. I miss our long talks about everything and anything, how we could go from a serious matter to argue about silly things. I sit myself in the couch in front of the fireplace reading and I miss how you can go from nudging your little cold feet against my leg, to lean on me with your head on my shoulder._

 _You'll probably think I'm being awfully sappy and ask yourself if I had a personality transplant. But the only thing that snuggles with me now is Millie's cat. Pretty thing, I admit, but a bit too furry for my tastes._

 _Draco has been torturing me all week. Seems that Madam Malkin worked her mouth overtime and spread all kind of gossip. According to the rumors I'm set to be married this summer with an Italian Princess. By now, trying to deny or set them straight would be too difficult, not to mention useless. Even Draco wouldn't believe me when I told him I was just showing the Alley to a friend, preferring to keep insisting. When they see me without a wedding band maybe they'll reconsider?_

 _Umbridge is even worse that my worst nightmares. Her simpering voice could make even a dementor run away disgusted. She refuses to let us use wands and we're relegated to book reading. Also, Potter already got detention with her. He can't just keep his mouth shut about Voldemort. I say, if the government is slandering you, if the paper is slandering you, if even your schoolmates think you're an attention seeking disturbed child.. shouldn't it at least pass in his mind the thought of laying low and fucking stay silent?!  
People like him irritates me to my very core. _

_Snape is more abrupt and abrasive than usual, so I would say that he met your father for tea during the summer. Hope he didn't tell the professor anything about you._

 _On a different note. I need your genius mind for a moment. I'm studying a ward at the moment, my individual study mind you, I'm doing everything the instructions say to the letter but it keeps trying to blow up in my face. I can't get what I could possibly be doing wrong. I attached my notes to the letter, maybe you can shed some light on the matter before I destroy half of Hogwarts.. though it wouldn't be such a loss._

 _Blaise._

* * *

Alya bit her bottom lip, leaning her head against the cool glass of the window. Here he went again being confusing and making her hope for something. Why couldn't he be clear just for once instead of flirting friendly with her? He got her to the point that she imagined things, like him calling her 'love' when she left. How silly of her. She was too old for daydreaming.

Sighing resigned she took her quill and a fresh parchment.

 _Dear Blaise,_

 _I miss you too, maybe I should invest in a cat to cuddle with too, see if it makes for a decent substitute._

 _Things are so hectic now that I'm back here at the Academy. I really understand why they are called Nastily Exhausting, and it's only week one. Personally I think that all my professors decided to gang up on me and try to kill me, now that everyone knows I'm aiming for the Master of Magic program. It's like they expect me to be better than everyone, do more than everyone and even know it before they even breach a new subject! It's maddening._

 _I mean, I could totally do it (why be modest when you can afford to brag?) with enough time to at least read the books, but in a week it's impossible. I like challenges though, so I'll show them what I'm made of, even if it kills me!_

 _She really sounds horrible, Draco said as much too. Did you know that garter snakes eat toads? They are pretty sassy too, lovely to chat with._

 _Maybe I should invest in a snake instead. At least they talk back. To me, that is._

 _Potter being an idiot is no news, it's just like what I know of him to act like some stupid and reckless martyr. Plus if she's treating you like children he'll probably have to write lines._

 _Draco told me of the rumors too. He is deeply offended that you didn't confide in him and envious. He called you a lucky sod and a bastard right after. It seems Aunt Narcissa is pestering him to get a move on._

 _Maybe we could stage a violent fight and break up if they still bother you come next year. I would even have the excuse to go all Dark Princess on you!_

 _The reason your wards keep trying to blow up is because your book has a mistake on it. Never use chalk for repressing wards, it twists the whole construct in a way that it absorbs any magic, the one you put in to activate it and the one you are trying to contain inside, and instead of keeping it locked within, it pushes it all out in a violent shockwave. What you need is either salt or powdered moonstone._

 _Now that I've lent you a bit of my infinite wisdom, I must really tackle my homework before my desk collapses._

 _Alya_

* * *

 _Mia Cara,_

 _You really are a genius! I did as you suggested and the ward worked perfectly. It was high time though, I was getting tired of regrowing my eyebrows. It made me feel like Finnegan, the Gryffindor who blows up something every time he waves his wand. Not funny at all._

 _I swear if Draco doesn't stop pestering me or hiding from Pansy in my room, and consequently pestering me, I'm not going to be responsible for my actions. He will probably become my new target practice, you're warned!_

 _The toad is more and more insufferable. I started to take her classes as additional nap times, right along with history of magic. She did make Potter write lines, though it was using a blood quill. Sadistic bitch. The idiot doesn't even realize the severity of the situation._

 _I heard Granger mumbling something about making a club to learn what she doesn't teach. They all will get in trouble. No doubt. And as good as Potter may be at this farce they call Defence in Hogwarts, what is he going to teach them? Expelliarmus and trickling jinx?_

 _I'll have you know that you can't replace me with a mere cat. I should be offended. A snake now, that would make a poor substitute but still keep you company. Cats are just something soft and fluffy you can pet._

 _I feel sorry for you. NEWTs are bad enough already without teachers expecting too much from you. Showing them what you're made of is good and all, but take care of yourself too and don't forget to eat at meals. I know how you are when immersed in your thing._

 _Question for you: have you ever thought of becoming an animagus?_

 _Blaise._

* * *

 _Dear Blaise,_

 _Are you insinuating that cats are useless? I'll have you know that I love cats and don't you dare speak badly of them!_

 _Snakes are my second favorites though. I really wanted a pet as a child but I never could. First in the orphanage it was prohibited and then Uncle Lucius is a little maniacal with cleanness and thinks that pets are dirty and all this rot._

 _A blood quill? Pretty daring of her, I know that blood quills are strictly regulated inside the Ministry and banned for personal use, only the Goblins can use them for contracts and the like. She will face many years in Azkaban if she is found out. Though I doubt she would be so stupid as to use it on pureblood students or children of wizengamot members._

 _I can't see Potter teaching them things more difficult than that. Maybe he'll try the Patronus Charm._

 _Animagus you say? It would be pretty cool to be one. My transfiguration teacher is going to tutor a select few who show more promise during this year. She said that she would choose them within the week. It pretty funny that you asked such a question right now. What about you? Thinking of learning too?_

 _Alya_

* * *

 **Thank you everyone for adding my story to your favourite or alert lists and for leaving a review!**


	14. Chapter 14

_Mia Cara,_

 _I was unaware that you were such a cat lover. I shall endeavor to never talk badly about them again. Cats are lovely, really. I'm personally quite partial to pretty black kittens with wide blue eyes._

 _So Lucius has problems with pets but lets dozens of chickens- pardon, peacocks roam his gardens? Bah._

 _You are right about the Toad, she is going after muggleborn and halfblood students and for stupid reasons too. She's still keeping it 'contained' though._

 _Being the happy idiots they are, they'll probably learn the Patronus by the end of the year. Though if you are properly trained, it's not too difficult to cast. Everyone can get the mist, even if they don't have a strong enough memory to produce a corporeal one._

 _I'm actually already started on the procedure of becoming an animagus. I've been meditating since last May to discover and connect with my inner animal, while studying everything I could about its anatomy and characteristics. I'm ready to start with slowly transforming partially one part at a time._

 _I'm quite curious to know what kind of animal you would be. You'll probably be something incredibly beautiful and graceful, not to mention lethal._

 _Blaise_

* * *

 _Dear Blaise,_

 _I'm sorry I don't have much time to write, on top of my 'normal' studies I now have animagus tutoring, extra potions lessons and I'm helping the Care of Magical Creatures teacher taking care of a snake. Poor thing had been wounded by muggles and doesn't let humans near him. Thankfully I'm a parselmouth and he seems to trust me at least a little. Once he is all healed, the school has arranged for him to be taken to a magical reserve where he will be free and safe._

 _You are right the Patronus is not incredibly difficult, but I admit that I do not have a memory happy enough to cast a corporeal one. What about you?_

 _As for my animagus form, we are still at the meditaion stage and I am not sure what it will turn out to be. I was able to see a shape coming near me though, the professor told me it was a very good sign._

 _Will you tell me about your form?_

 _Alya_

* * *

 _Mia Cara,_

 _You work entirely too much for your own good. You seem like you enjoy taking care of that snake though you'll probably be sad to see him go when the time comes._

 _My form is that of a wolf, that much I can tell you. It's quite complicated to transform, even if one piece only. More than that, it's a strange feeling. But you slowly get used to it._

 _I know that the Blacks carry a strong methamorph genes, with one of your cousins being a methamorphomagus and another being an unregistered animagus. You will probably be a natural at it. It took me two weeks of meditation before seeing the shadow of my form._

 _Now, I normally wouldn't be this direct or, at the very least, I would do it in person but circumstances make this impossible at the moment._

 _Are you blatantly ignoring my flirting or are you just incredibly oblivious? I've been trying really hard to understand if you would be open to a possible courtship but you're making it awfully difficult for me. I just can't understand if you like me or not._

 _Because I find myself captivated by everything that is you._

 _Ever since the first time I saw you, I was mesmerized by your beauty and power. Getting to know the smart, strong and cunning woman inside only made my fascination grow. And then this summer. I was able to see the part of you that you keep hidden. The sweet and shy girl with the twinkling laugh, the one that secretly loves to cuddle and is afraid of swimming alone in the sea. The same girl who hides the pain behind a strong façade and has the biggest and most fragile heart I've ever seen. So ready to love but also so afraid to be broken._

 _If only you would give me the chance, I would treasure your heart with everything that I am._

 _I am aware that my innocent flirting usually gets me labeled as a womanizer. But I'm not like this. You know me and you know that I would never ever toy with a person's feelings. While I love my mother, I don't want to end up like her. I want to find love and keep it for all my life._

 _If I give myself to someone, I give it all._

 _I won't pressure you into a decision, much less into starting a relationship with me. I just ask for you to be sincere with me. If you don't see me like this, romantically, you just have to tell me and I will still be your friend, never pushing the boundaries._

 _If, by some miracle, you harbor some feelings for me, I would consider myself the luckiest man on heart and I would do anything to show you the depth of my emotions for you._

 _In the box there is something I hope will show you the seriousness of my words._

 _With love,_

 _Blaise_

* * *

Alya could barely breath as she read the letter… the _love_ letter Blaise sent. She just couldn't believe it. It seemed almost too good to be true. Could it be possible that, that whispered word was not just her imagination?

Even though when she left she was still uncertain about her feelings, willing to admit her crush but still so confused about it all, in this small time away from him it was all different. Barely a month away from him and she missed him like crazy, it was like the distance made her hyper aware of what she felt. She knew the meaning of them now and what she wanted, now it was time to act on it.

Grabbing the small box attached to the envelope, she turned it all around in her hands, trying to calm her racing heart. Taking a deep breath, she wiped away the tears from her eyes.

When she pulled at the ribbon, the box popped open showing it contents.

Resting on the black velvet cushion was a rose bud. The blood red flower slowly bloomed and nestled in the middle of the silky petals was a gem. With shaking fingers she reached for it, pulling it out and revealing it to be a pendant. Surrounded by tiny pearls all around was a shining ruby, the little hook uniting the charm to the golden necklace was rose shaped with shimmering diamonds all over.

Alya gasped at the beauty of it, unbelieving that something so perfect was for her. With shaking hands she unfastened the clasp and reached behind to fasten the delicate golden chain around her neck.

The feeling of the stone resting against her chest was warm and comfortable, it was like it was always meant to be there and she had been missing until just then.

Quickly taking some parchment she willed her hands to steady and wrote her answer.

* * *

 _Dear Blaise,_

 _Of all the things I thought you would write that was the last one, I admit._

 _Not because your feelings are not welcome but because I've been battling so hard against my own, I didn't want to delude myself there could be something for you too._

 _I admit that while you made an impression right away, it took me longer to develop feelings for you. Or maybe I'm just so unaccustomed to love that I didn't recognize it? I'm not sure._

 _You made it difficult to ignore my heart during this past summer, when all I wanted was listen to my head. It seems so silly now, all this doubts I had, when I couldn't understand if you were really flirting with me or if you were just you being you._

 _I guess that it was not me being oblivious, as much as us dancing around each other._

 _I wish you would_ _have been able to tell me all those things in person_. _I would have probably blushed to the point of self combustion, but at least I would have been able to look at you while you did it. No one has ever said so beautiful words to me, no one had ever understood me to such level and no one has ever seen so deep inside me._

 _If you still need me to say it.. I feel the same way as you do._

 _You certainly don't need me to tell you that you are very attractive, you know it well enough and take full advantage of it. But when I learnt of the man behind the charm, I guess I was lost then. You say my heart is big but that's not the truth. I don't trust easily and prefer to keep it under lock and key. The way you took care of me this whole summer, comforting me with such gentleness, always trying to make me laugh and showing me things that would make me happy. You've saved me from becoming something I don't want to imagine._

 _That is the reason I trust you so much with my thoughts and my secrets._

 _Now I will trust you with my heart too._

 _Love,_

 _Alya_

 _p.s. I love the necklace, it is beautiful beyond words. I will always wear it. Thank you._

Blaise could feel his heart ready to burst in happiness. She loved him! And she wanted to be with him!  
It was a good thing he was alone in an abandoned classroom or people would think he had gone insane, laughing loudly with a huge grin on his face.

Had he understood that his feeling were reciprocated from the start, he wouldn't have wasted all summer worrying about what to do. Now he had to wait an eternity until the holidays came again to finally get to kiss her luscious red lips. He groaned at the thought, cursing schools and everything that currently stood in between them.

He sighed thinking of the tantrum Draco would throw when he finally learned that he had courted his cousin/sister without his knowledge or permission. Oh well, he had no intention of telling him anything yet. He would deal with the blond when the time came.

Carefully folding back the letter and storing it in the safe pocket of his jacket, he went back to his animagus training, concentrating on turning his hands into wolf paws.

* * *

 **It's been some time since my last update but life kept me busy. Unfortunately I won't have much time this summer to write since we're getting a puppy and she will need a lot of time in the beginning.**

 **I have a good portion of this fiction already written though, so if all goes well I'll be able to keep updating.**

 **To make up for the long wait, I'll update the next chapter too!**


	15. Chapter 15

Alya and Blaise kept writing to each other every chance they got, talking about their days, getting to know each other better and, as Blaise said he would, courting her.

With every letter he sent her, the boy sent a gift attached to the envelope. It wasn't always something expensive like the ruby necklace, but little gifts that showed his thoughtfulness or with sentimental value. His second courting gift had been a finely carved wooden box with blood red roses on the lid, so she could have somewhere to safely store all his letters. The second one had been a poem that he remembered reading years before but that reminded him of her beauty.

Alya found herself deeply touched every time she received a new owl and read his last words to her. The young man could be incredibly romantic, without having to fall in stupid clichés. But most of all he was just being himself, baring his mind and heart to her.

This last letter was different though, because after all the sweet words he had to warn her of something possibly bad.

* * *

 _It seems that your father has some kind of fixation for Halloween and theatrics. In the morning papers was the news that Azkaban has been breached and several death eaters had been freed. Among them Bellatri_ x _Lestrange, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange and many others._

 _I know that you are related to her, but she is bad news. The woman was batshit crazy at the time of the war, imagine after more than a decade in the dementors company. From what I know she was obsessed with the Dark Lord, wanting to be his lover and possibly bear him a child, even though everyone knows that she is sterile. I fear that if she were to learn of your existence, she would make it her mission to find you and kill you, for you represent the proof that her beloved Lord choose someone else above her._

 _Please, be careful. Even if you are behind the safe Academy wards, never let your guard down and prepare yourself for a possible confrontation. I will do anything in my power to protect you and keep the harpy away from you, of course, but I also realize that you are an incredibly stubborn and independent woman. You don't need a knight in shining armor to defend you_ _like some damsel in distress. So I will stay behind in the shadows and stand ready, for the moment you give me the word I would shed blood without a second thought for you._

 _Draco tells me that the escaped death eaters have taken residence in Malfoy Manor, along with the Dark Lord. It seems more and more difficult for you to be able to go back, I'm sorry to say._

 _Now that he has his followers once again at his side, the man will only think about the war and his cause, whatever it may be. I fear that somewhere along the way, he lost too much of his sanity, and by now even he has lost sight of his initial goals._

 _I advise against trying to write to Lucius, the risk of your letter being intercepted is too great. Tell Draco to stop wiring about you home too, but have him pass you whatever information he has for he would probably not tell me all he knows, with me being firmly neutral in the war._

 _Love,_

 _Blaise_

His courting gift this time had been a little charm to attach to the bracelet he bought her the last summer. It was wolf shaped, made of pure silver and covered in every protective enchantments known to man. She smiled thinking of her overprotective boyfriend.

It still made her giggle like a silly girl to think of him as her boyfriend.

The news he gave her were worrying though. Things would end up badly if her father continued on this way.

* * *

 _Dear Blaise,_

 _Tales of dear Aunt Bellatrix' madness are not new to me. She truly is a piece of work. Thing is, when ruled by madness you become weaker. Bellatrix will not be a threat to me, believe me._

 _I'm the Academy's dueling champion, I know magics beyond her wildest dreams and let's admit it…I'm the fucking Dark Lord's daughter, I'm the Dark Princess. What's a mere death eater in comparison?_

 _Just a word against my person and I'll squash her like the bug she is. I'm really not in the mood to deal with the likes of her, when my godforsaken father still refuses to acknowledge me!_

 _Sorry, I didn't mean to rant._

 _As much as I appreciate how willing you are to kill anyone who as much as looks wrong at me, you are getting me more and more curious as the time goes by. Will you ever share your secret with me?_

 _I finally recognized my animagus form, cheeky bugger kept running circles around me for months!_

 _I guess you were right, I'm beautiful, I'm graceful and I can be lethal. Most important of all, no one will ever be able to escape my sweet big eyes, I'll conquer the world!_

 _After all who can deny the adorableness of an ocelot?_

 _I can't wait to start transforming, I'm so excited!_ _  
_

 _Love,_

 _Alya_

* * *

 _Mio Amore,_

 _Happy birthday! How does it feel to be fifteen?_

 _I don't know if to be smug that I kind of guessed what you would be, since I always compared you to a kitten, or be afraid for my sake. After all you already are able to get me do anything, for you have me twisted around your little finger quite firmly, this addition could be the end of me._

 _On the other hand though, maybe you'll finally admit that you like to cuddle and allow me to keep you in my arms all day long, now. I bet you make an adorable little ocelot, cara._

 _I'm just about ready to attempt the full transformation, though I'll probably wait for the holidays to go home. If I were to be stuck, having my tutor nearby would be useful. I do not want people to know I am an animagus. McGonagall would immediately tell Dumbledore and insist I get registered, after a long scolding, and the old coot would try to blackmail me into fighting for his side of the war. Fat chance._

 _Knowing that you are so sure of your abilities and your ability to beat Bellatrix, not to mention the mental image of you squashing her with your heeled boots, is incredibly arousing and sexy._

 _You are the dueling champion? You've been holding out on me, Missy. No wonder you made me work so hard during our trainings together._

 _As for my secret, I have no intention of keeping it from you but I'm bound to silence. At least until I will be sure that you will be a stable part of my life. Not my rules, kitten._

 _It seems stupid, especially since my secret is a big one, the kind of secret that can make or end a couple. Something tells me that you wouldn't be too bothered about it, but you need to wait just a little more._

 _Back to your birthday. I couldn't make up my mind on what to get you, so I decided to take both. Be careful with the box, it's extremely fragile._

 _Love,_

 _Blaise_

* * *

Alya smiled, she was not bothered that he couldn't tell her his secret, she expected it. His comment about her being a 'stable part' of his life made her think. Could he be talking about engagement? Or maybe marriage? She blushed just thinking about it. She hadn't even kissed the boy yet and she was already dreaming about becoming Mrs. Zabini!

Eyeing the box, she pursed her lips. It was awfully big for a present. What the hell did he get her?

Pulling the bow on top, she carefully opened it and peered inside.

She let out an excited squeal, complete with jumping on the spot and clapping her hands like a little girl. Recomposing herself she reached inside, gently taking out the contents.

A fluffy creamy kitten with a huge blood red bow around its neck and a small snake with shockingly blue scales. She cuddled them close to her chest, cooing at how adorable and beautiful they were.

While nuzzling the soft kitten she realized that there was a small card attached to the box. Asking the snake to wrap around her neck, she took the note and read it.

 _The kitten is a little girl while the snake is male._

 _They'll keep you company while you're at school._

 _But as soon as summer comes, you're mine!_

 _I hope you like your gift._

* * *

 _Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!_

 _I know that a letter should be started with 'dear' but .. Oh Merlin! I love them so much! I love_ you _so much!_

 _I can't believe you got me such a thoughtful gift! It's what I always wished to have._

 _I decided to name the kitten Cassandra, or Cassy for short, and the snake Dion, for such a small thing he sure acts like he is God on Earth. He's going to grow into a very big and scary specimen, though, so the name fits._

 _I know you can't see me but for the reference, I'm looking starry eyed._

 _I love them so much that you don't even need to get me a Yule present. I'm serious._

 _Now that I've said a thousand times how much I love your gift. I'll move on a different subject._

 _Don't worry about your secret. I understand that you can't reveal it to me yet, especially if it doesn't concern you alone. I can be patient if I want to be._

 _I envy you, being able to leave school for the holidays and get a break. As it is, I'll spend them subjecting myself to a mock NEWTs. Joy!  
Don't worry, even though I'm overworking, I'm still eating regularly and sleeping enough. Whenever I don't, I have Dion reminding me and threatening to bite me I don't get a move on. You got me quite the little enforcer there. Did you gave him instructions before sending him my way? Confess!_

 _I got a letter from Draco, it seems that my father and the merry band of crazies are still at the Manor wreaking havoc. He's terrified of Bellatrix and said that he would spend the whole time barricaded in his room, cursing his mother who insisted he went back. I cannot blame him._

 _I have the feeling that something incredibly wrong happened to make my father so.. mad. He was described to me like a highly intelligent and cunning man, a charismatic one that wanted to better our world.. not destroy it._

 _Maybe I'm just reading too much into it, instead. Who knows what wandering for a decade in spirit form could do to a person's psyche._

 _I have attached your Yule gift._

 _Love_

 _Alya_

* * *

 _Mio Amore,_

 _I knew that you would like them. I saw the kitten in the window shop among many other cats and I couldn't help but think that she was perfect for you. When I entered I saw the snake too and it reminded me of your beautiful eyes. There was no way I could leave one of them behind._

 _I really loved my Yule gift, thank you very much. I've been looking for that antique sword all over the place for two years.. Where did you find it? I can't believe I now own that original sword that Antonio il Magnifico 'The magnificent' used in his battles! That's a real piece of art not to mention history!_

 _I want to kiss you so much right now!_

 _Spending the holidays with NEWTs sounds dreadful.. it would be much better to be here at Zabini Manor, snuggled on the couch with me._

 _Draco has already tried several times asking me for asylum but his mother planted her feet and refused to let him go. He's such a mommy's boy._

 _Something is definitely wrong with your father, but it could have been anything. People react differently to a lot of things. Just look at my mother, she lost the love of her life and goes around changing husbands like she changes underwear! A more normal person would hurt and probably refuse to even think of looking at anyone else romantically for a while._

 _Try not to worry too much about it for now, whatever happens we will deal with it together._

 _Love,_

 _Blaise_

* * *

 _Dear Blaise,_

 _I told you that I didn't need a Yule gift! You gave me too much already. And the diary of Miranda Reichs! She's one of the best spellcrafters that ever lived! There are all her notes and experiments in there! It's worth a fortune for her name alone.. but the sheer knowledge stored inside? Merlin.._

 _There are dozens of ideas and spells she never could finish or perfect, the possibilities are endless with this material._

 _I don't know if hit you on the head and scold you for the amount of money I don't even want to know you spent, or if I should just kiss you._

 _You're spoiling me too much, really._

 _Love,_

 _Alya_


	16. Chapter 16

**_I apologize for the long wait, our new puppy Maya is sucking the life out of us XD Kidding, she's an adorable peluche, just a little hyperactive._**

* * *

 _My lovely Alya,_

 _I'm of the opinion that if a man doesn't spoil his woman, then he doesn't deserve her love. A woman should always wish for nothing._

 _I have good news and bad news for you. With which one should I start?_

 _The good news is that I completed my transformation. Being able to run as a wolf is one of the most freeing experiences I ever went through. The power, the feral instincts laying just below the surface. It's exhilarating._

 _The bad news.. from what I learnt Potter is somehow connected to your father through his scar. He had been having visions all year, sent by him. Just before the holidays he and the band of Weasels vanished. It seems that he dreamt of being your father's snake and attacking Mr. Weasley in the Ministry. Turns out that Nagini had really bitten the man. He's alive only because Potty told Dumbledore right away. This connection of his could be really dangerous if your father slips up just for a moment with his occlumency shields and lets Potter see something he shouldn't._

 _From my sources I know that the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's merry band of idiots, is guarding the Department of Mysteries, or more exactly a prophecy. One about Potter and your Father. And he wants to know everything it says. One of his death eaters, Snape, heard the beginning and reported it, that's the reason he targeted the Potters and why he believes that Scarhead is such a threat to him._

 _I personally don't believe in such rubbish, prophecies tend to be self-fulfilling. If you ignore them, it's all good, but when you know, you do something that makes it real. Such a pain in the ass they are._

 _By the way, it seems that the little defence club Potter &Co started became 'Dumbledore's Army'. It's so nauseating and idiotic of them. They managed to gather a pretty big crowd too. Umbridge keeps assigning detentions with her pretty quill and seems out to get Potter. I doubt she'll rest until he is silenced for good._

 _Did you know that she is one of the few people with clearance to appoint dementors to a certain case? How very curious.._

 _Only six more months to until I can see you again._

 _Love,_

 _Blaise_

* * *

 _Dear Blaise,_

 _Careful of what you say or I might take you seriously._

 _I'm sure that you make a very handsome wolf, I can't wait to be able to join you for a run if it's as good as you say. I've started on partial transformation. You were right, it feels so strange. I even lost concentration once and got stuck with cat ears, tail and paws! It was so embarrassing.._

 _I hate divination, now more than ever. If that prophecy is the cause of it all, then it needs to be gone. It will only cause more problems than what it's worth._

 _That connection between them is really worrying though. I may not like my father very much at the moment, but Dumbledore knows about it and he will not hesitate to use the connection for his ends. He will push Potter, make him aware of the connection and force it open, so that he will be able to kill Father._

 _I wonder what the reason for that could be. I will need to do some research about it, in my free time of course, which alas is extremely limited. Especially now that I have my scaly friend acting as alarm for meals and all around day planner. I swear I tell him my schedule and he can memorize it without any trouble._

 _I'll never miss an appointment or a meal again now that I have Dion._

 _Potter can have fun with his fan club while he still can. Those kiddie spells won't help him when the war starts again._

 _As little as I care about Potter, such a vile woman should not be allowed near children. Muggleborns are still magical children and as such should be treated accordingly, after all it's not entirely their fault if they don't know anything about our world or think that can change it to their needs. Necessary measures should be taken for them._

 _I received the results for the mock exam, I ached it. If things go as well for the real thing I'll qualify for the Master of Magic program with no problems._

 _I really miss our days on the beach, I can't wait for summer to come again._

 _Love,_

 _Alya_

* * *

 _Mia Cara,_

 _It seems things are starting to get heated here. Umbridge has finally found out Potter's little hideout, with the help of her inquisitional squad (Draco's one of them too, I can't understand why). They also found out the parchment with all the signatures of the Dumbledore's Army. The old man had to flee the castle to save Potter's arse, as usual._

 _All the members are now getting very closely aquaitanted with her personal stock of blood quills. She named herself acting Headmistress and has been enforcing new, and quite stupid, rules too. Like having the existing clubs inspected, not allowing more than five people to meet for practically anything.. even standing at less than five feet distance is prohibited for a boy and a girl. I have no words._

 _Trying to find the reason for the connection seems like a wise idea, maybe it will give us some leads to his behavior too._

 _Enough of that depressing shit, though._

 _It's Valentine's Day, amore mio (my love). The day dedicated to love. I should be waxing poetic and sweep you off your feet, woman! Oh, If only I could be there with you, you would swoon right in my arms, I assure you. Alas, it is a little more tricky to get the same effect on paper. And I can't catch you when you faint. It wouldn't be good, not at all._

 _So, for the sake of your health, I shall desist. For now. Instead I'll save it all for when I will finally be able to see your pretty blue eyes again and run my hands through your long silky hair._

 _Speaking of your beauty; did you get a picture of your half transformation? I bet you were adorable.._

 _Love,_

 _Blaise_

* * *

When Alya finished reading the letter a little rune on the bottom corner activated and two dozen blood red roses appeared on her bed, where she let the parchment fall in surprise.

She smiled, bringing one of the bloody roses to her nose to smell their sweet fragrance.

* * *

 _Mia Cara,_

 _I dread to think that you'll have to stay behind at the Academy for an additional month to take your exams._

 _What I hate even more is to be once again the bearer of bad news, when you should only be concentrating on passing your NEWTs._

 _Your father sent Potter a new vision during his history exam, making him think that his godfather Sirius Black was being tortured in the Department of Mysteries. Like an idiot Potter left school to run right into a trap along with his little friends. A battle ensued in the depths of the Department against death eaters over the little prophecy ball. Reinforcements came for them in the form of the Order of the Phoenix, but they still sustained losses. Sirius Black was pushed into the Veil of Death by Bellatrix. I am unsure if he was still alive or if she managed to it him with a killing curse._

 _At some point your father appeared too and dueled with Dumbledore right in the main atrium. Now, everyone including Fudge knows of his return and Dumbledore is once again revered as the hero of the Light. Not only that but people believe Potter to be the Chosen One destined to save them all._

 _He is getting more reckless. The Dark Lord I heard about would have never made such a faux pas. Once you're back home we will need to do something to contain damage._

 _I shall consult all of my sources and find out all the information we could need on everyone involved with the first war. Breaking their connection is the main priority, though._

 _I shall pass along everything I find._

 _Good luck on your NETWs, amore._

 _Blaise_

* * *

 _Dear Blaise,_

 _I'm getting used to taking my exams under pressure. If anything it will be good for my strength of mind._

 _I have looked into anything that could be causing a connection between my Father and Potter, while also connecting him and Nagini. The results are scarce and every possibility seems more unlikely than the other, but it's my father we're talking about, so Merlin knows what he had been up to in his life._

 _I have studied every one of the possibilities and how to counter them, to know which one is it though I will need to be close to him and perform some revealing charms. Should be easy._

 _I have another week and half of exams left, after that I'll be free. Shall I portkey directly in Zabini Manor?_

 _Love,_

 _Alya_


	17. Chapter 17

Alya shifted from foot to foot, both excited and anxious to finally see Blaise again. Blaise, who had been her boyfriend for nearly a year. The last time they had seen each other they were still only friends, mind you friends already attracted to and dancing around each other, but only friends.

How was she supposed to act? Should she run into his arms? No, that would be too much, she was not one of those stupid girls who lost the few brain cells thy had over a boy. Maybe she should be composed and polite. Yes, ideal for a business meeting. What was she going to do?

And what if he kissed her? She had never been kissed before. What if she was terrible at that? Was there a manual on how to kiss?

'No. Alya, stop' she told herself 'you're bordering on pathetic now'.

Taking a deep breath she tried to relax. She'll just leave it up to Blaise, he was the man in the relationship, he would make the first move. She'll just stand quietly and freak out in the confines of her mind.

The portkey glowed warning her of the impending departure. Alya widened her eyes, suppressing a squeak of panic, but it was too late.

* * *

Blaise rose from the armchair the instant he felt the telltale sign of magic gathering in a place, knowing that Alya would be there in seconds.

He drunk in the sight of her the moment she appeared in front of him. Her skin had lost the hard earned tan of the summer and was back to her alabaster tone; her hair were longer now, almost reaching her butt; but she was still the same girl he left ten months ago.

She was blushing lightly, her cobalt blue eyes shifting from his person to her feet in a rare show of shyness.

She couldn't be more beautiful in his eyes.

He closed the gap between them with two long strides, making her gasp in surprise when she raised her eyes again, finding him so close. Raising his hand he caressed her cheek gently, almost reverently. He took pleasure in the way her blush intensified at his touch.

She wet her lips, as a nervous gesture, his eyes immediately zeroing on them, alight with fire and need. He slowly cupped her face with his palms, always softly, treating her like the finest china. Her eyelids fluttered shut as he moved nearer and nearer and then his lips were on hers.

Was it too cliché saying that she saw fireworks? Most certainly, but she didn't care as his warm and slightly rough lips moved over her soft and cold ones. Her first kiss. Her perfect first kiss.

Kissing her one last time, he leaned his forehead against hers, breathing heavily even though they had been only sharing soft chaste kissing and not snogging madly.

Opening her eyes, she looked into his whiskey ones and smiled. Tightening her arms, that unknown to her had wound themselves around his neck sometime during their moment, she placed her head on the crook of his neck, inhaling his distinctive smell. Moving to adjust to her position he nuzzled her hair, dropping a kiss on top of her head. Had had grown so tall again that he could do that comfortably, while she had to rise on her tiptoes to reach his neck only. It was quite unfair. But it made her feel small and protected. It was nice to feel like she didn't need to be strong all the time, that she could count on someone else to care for her and keep her safe.

That day was spent cuddling together and sharing sweet kisses. Neither of them felt the need to interrupt with idle chatter, content in their intimate silence.

* * *

The tall man shrouded in black stalked through the halls, silent as a ghost. His yellow hawk eyes gleaming in the darkness.

He kept going forward, looking for his prey. His irritation growing with each empty room he found. Where was he? Where?

Finally, he came upon the right place. There he was, laying on the couch witouth a care in the world, basking in the presence of a woman. The fool was in love then, the look in his eyes was unmistakable. Poor lass didn't know what she had gotten herself into. They were speaking softly in English, so she was foreign, even worse.

Smirking maliciously he stepped forward.

"Ragazzo! Che significa tutto ciò?" 'Boy! What's the meaning of this?' he bellowed "Questa puttanella è la ragione per cui verrai ucciso in missione?" 'Is this little whore the reason you're going to be killed on mission?'

Both Blaise and Alya had jumped apart at the loud screaming and were now looking at the imposing man with a mixture of surprise and caution.

Hearing this man insult her, Alya rose to her feet as fast as lightning drawing her wand before the man could realize.

"Look here, I don't give a shit who the fuck you are. No one insults me and gets away with it! Now apologize before I decide to eviscerate you and feed your remains to my familiar" she threatened, her voice gone to a silky steel cold, sending shivers down the men spines. Hearing that she was talking about him the now 5 feet something snake slithered over, coiling protectively around his Mistress waist and hissing angrily at the unknown man.

Blaise let out a laugh that slowly became loud and uncontrolled "Careful Gramps" he said trying to breath "Now you've gone and woken the Dark Princess. I would apologize" calming down slightly he leaned back on the couch, determined on enjoy the show.

"Gramps?" "Dark Princess?" they said looking at him and then the other.

"Yup" Blaise quipped smirking, arms crossed over his chest.

"Well" the man said, carefully studying the girl in front of him "It seems that you are not one of those useless vapid girls that infest the planet these days"

Alya grimaced at being compared to one of those "I still didn't hear my apology" she deadpanned. She was not going to let him pass only because he was her boyfriend's grandfather. Of course she would not eviscerate him, Blaise loved him, but the old man didn't need to know that.

"Seems you found a girl with balls of steel, ragazzo" 'boy'

"That's her being nice, believe me. I heard worse threats coming from that pretty red lips"

Ignoring the wand pointed at him, the man sat down on the armchair near the fireplace "oh, put down that stick girl. I'm too old and I've played the field for too long not to recognize a bluff" he waved at her, making her pout and huff "For what it's worth I apologize though."

Alya nodded, going back to sit next to Blaise. He wouldn't hear of it though and pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders so she was nicely snuggled against him

"What brings you here, Gramps?" he asked "You visited a mere week ago"

"Yes. And it seems that you failed to inform me of a certain thing too"

"That's because I knew that you would go all crazy hawk on her, I wanted to warn her beforehand but you beat me to it"

"How long has this been going on?"

"Eight months?"

"Are you asking me or telling me, boy?" he asked irritated

"Telling" Blaise said coughing

"I should bend you over my knee and spank you for your cheek. Why did you not see fit to inform me that you entered a courtship? As the Head of our family it is my right and duty to know of such things and make sure that it is a good match. Don't even try to deny the courtship, I've seen the pendant on her neck. That is a Ombra heirloom, as we both know"

"I didn't know" Alya muttered

"Oh, he failed to tell you?" the man leant forward "That is called the Bloody Rose. It was commissioned by one of my ancestors to gift the woman he was going to marry. Do you know the reason behind that name? It is because of that woman. Rosa Bianchi had been promised to Augustus Ombra at birth, when the time came for them to marry she was overjoyed, or so it seemed. He was ready to give her the world and love her with all his being BUT she was not so easily pleased. She wanted more. She had accepted this pendant swearing her faithfulness and love to him, but at the first chance she got she laid with another man. That same night she died in a pool her own blood, the once pale red ruby turning bloody. Ever since then men in our family have gifted this cursed necklace to their promised wives. They would either be scared into being faithful with horror stories about the curse or killed when cheating on them unaware of it. Others would gift the pendant in a show of trust instead. Believing that even without knowing of the curse, their women would never betray them"

Alya blinked before narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend "I hope for you sake that you gave me this for the last reason"

"Of course. Plus, since I trust you I added a protection spell to the wolf charm I gave you that counteracts the curse. Instead of killing you, it would just turn the silver wolf to red." Blaise explained

"You did such thing?" the man asked surprised "I'm impressed son, centuries of wizards tried to get rid of it or circumvent it, not wishing for their spouses to be killed if they fell victim of an act of violence against their wishes"

"I think the whole killing thing is a bit exaggerated, though since it was Rosa who unknowingly created the curse it's no one's fault. To be honest, I wanted to give her the pendant simply because it's beautiful and suits her."

"That and the fact that you wanted to stake your claim on the lass" the man snorted "Everyone knows that it's a family heirloom and many knows it's fame. Though, it's usually saved as an engagement gift. No one ever used it during a courting yet"

Alya blushed, her heart fluttering madly at the knowledge that Blaise was being so serious about their relationship. She smiled shyly looking at the young man by her side and was amused to see he had a light dusting of red on his cheeks too. Probably because his intentions to propose someday had been so blatantly outed by his grandfather.

"The question is if this girl is good enough to become part of our family" the man said quietly

"Grandfather!"

"Silence" he ordered "Now girl, why makes you think that you're good enough for my grandson?"

"I don't" Alya admitted "He's entirely too good for me and I did nothing in my life to deserve such devotion and love from a good man like Blaise."

Blaise looked at her surprised, not believeing that she thought so lowly of herself. He was the one who didn't deserve such an incredible creature. The man was surprised too, it was rare to see such honesty.

"I'm a selfish creature, though. I craved acceptance and love for all my life, something that Blaise is giving me wholly and witouth reservation. I would be an idiot to reject such a chance. In my defence I can only say that I really love your grandson, sir. As long as he'll have me, I'll stay at his side to support him and love him with all I am"

Alya had been blushing the whole time but never once she broke eye contact with the older wizard. She stood proud and tall, never showing her doubts and the fear that he would take Blaise away from her. She wanted so much to be deemed worthy by this man, to be accepted as the woman Blaise chose for himself.

The man kept staring at her though, never speaking, not even moving a muscle.

"Blaise" he said slowly and sternly "I warn you boy"

Blaise was now getting worried himself, he had been so sure that he would have liked his girlfriend, what went wrong?

"Get a move on and put a ring on this girl's finger or I'll disown you if you let her slip through your fingers!"

The couple blinked before relieved smiles graced their features. Blaise turned, hooking a finger under her chin and kissing her chastely, smiling when she blushed so cutely.

"Aww, you're going to get me diabetes" the man commented.

"Thank you for ruining the moment" Blaise deadpanned

"Yes, yes. You can smooch later. You still haven't properly introduced the lass to me, shame on you! I didn't raise you to be such an uncouth barbarian"

"Says the man who likes to stalk other's people places and scare them to death" Blaise muttered, making Alya elbow him.

"You are right, sir. I'm Alya Mira Black Riddle Slytherin, it's a pleasure to meet you. Blaise speaks very fondly of you"

"Slyth.. bloody hell. Now I understand the Dark Princess comment of earlier." He commented with a laugh "you certainly have good taste boy along with keeping up with the tradition" he said slapping his tight

"Tradition?" Alya asked confused

"All the men in the family seem to fall for dangerous women" Blaise answered shrugging his shoulders, like it was the most normal thing.

"I see.."

"By the way, my name is Caius Ombra. Pleasure to meet you, young lady." He smiled "Antonio would be proud of you, son" he said to his grandson. Oh, he missed his son terribly, but Blaise was growing up to look more and more like his Antonio.

* * *

 **Leave a review and tell me what you think of the chapters!**


	18. Chapter 18

**What do you do when an earthquake nearby scared you to death at 3.30 am and you can't sleep anymore? You wait for the second earthquake to pass and when the situation seems stable, post a new chapter to keep your mind off the fear.**

 **Pray for Italy and for all the victims of this last tragedy.**

* * *

Finally the day to confront her father had come. Not only she was tired of waiting for him to acknowledge her existence, tired of being forced away from her family, of being forbidden to step foot in her home. She was fed up with that shit. If he didn't want to deal with the situation, she would force him then. She was not scared.

Additionally she needed to find out what was wrong with the man, the reason for his apparent insanity that in the last war was not there, or at least not so pronounced. She came to discover that everyone in the wizarding world was a little insane, each having their own brand of it.

Her father though had gone past the line and she needed to fix him.

Blaise insisted on coming with her to watch her back, she didn't say it out loud but he knew that she was relieved that she would not be alone when finally coming face to face the man.

* * *

Dressed ready to duel they met up in the floo room at nine sharp in the evening ready to leave.

When Alya stepped in the room he was already there. Wearing black dragon hide trousers, a very tight black t-shirt that clung to his muscles and a calf length dragon hide dueling robe that was more resembling of a sleeveless muggle leather trench coat. He looked incredibly handsome and dangerous, giving off the whole 'tall, dark and mysterious' vibe.

He was looking at her, staring more like, transfixed by the sight. She was wearing tight dragon hide pants too that clung to her curves, a black corset with red lining that made her waist look tiny and her breasts bigger. Not that she needed it, in Blaise's opinion her boobs were perfect, not too big, not too small, just the right size to cup in his hands. Not that he got to be so 'friendly' with them yet. The pendant he gave her was shining brightly just above the swell of her breasts, like an omen of blood .

Over the corset she was wearing a coat similar to his one, just shorter. It was form fitting on top and flared at the waist to stop at mid tight.

"Merlin, are you trying to kill me, woman?" he breathed, trying to subtly adjust his pants.

"I don't know what you're talking about, dear" she smiled coyly, making him groan.

She giggled before walking closer "Are you ready to go, lover boy?"

"Yes, let's go before I change my mind and ravish you" he said, making her falter in her step and blush madly.

They were both still added to the wards of Malfoy Manor, so they were able to apparate right into the foyer. Never mind that they were respectively sixteen and fifteen and should not be allowed to apparate alone, let alone know how to do it.

"You know" Blaise said looking around, hands in his pockets and rocking back and forth on his feet "I've always felt like visiting a museum when I came to see Draco, one foot out of place and a caretaker comes shouting at you"

Alya giggled "You're not the only one. I've always been afraid to break something"

"Well.. where to?" he asked

"I have no idea where he might be. Let's just wander until we find someone" she shrugged

"Lead the way, m'lady"

"And here I thought chivalry was dead" she commented

"Oh, it is. I just want to stare at your arse" he admitted mock seriously, a mischievous grin adorning his features.

"Pervert" she muttered.

"All men are, dolcezza" 'sweetheart' he answered shamelessly with a shrug.

* * *

"Intruders!" a female's voice screeched to their left "How dare you infiltrate the Dark Domain!"

"Figures we had to stumble into the crazy bitch" Blaise grumbled. They had barely left the foyer too, being still in the main hall of the manor.

Alya raised an eyebrow at her Aunt, quite curious to see how far her insanity went and what she would do.

"I will not let you leave here alive" she promised "No, ickle spies like you should be punished"

"Really?" Alya said bored. She was quite temped to yawn just to make her mad.

"Crucio!" the girl easily sidestepped the curse "How dare you mock me, you little bint! I will torture you so badly you'll wish to die! You scum! Crucio! You're going to die, you and your filthy parents! Filth shouldn't be allowed to reproduce. Crucio! Stay still, mudblood!"

Blaise, who had leant back against the wall to enjoy the show, wanted to snort at the witch's stupidity. Plus, she was making Alya angry.

"Trash like you shouldn't be allowed to use magic! Your mommy should have drowned you at birth before doing a favor to humanity and kill herself. No worries though, Bella will do that for you. I'll kill you, then I'll kill your whore of a mommy, and your daddy too.. until there are no more mudbloods! Crucio!Crucio!"

"If you're quite done" Alya said in a velvety cold voice "I'm quite tired of you speaking badly about me and mine"

"Oh? What is the ickle mudblood going to do?" Bellatrix mocked "Run behind Dumbledore and wait for him to save the day?"

"No. I am much more efficient than that." She replied with a shark smile "Bombarda" she whispered.

The curse impacted violently with the woman's arm, blowing it up from shoulder down. She hadn't been expecting the girl to fight, they usually cowered and died.

Bellatrix screamed like she never did in her life. Her anguished cries echoing within all the Manor and alerting its inhabitants of danger. Soon everyone was running through the halls towards the entrance.

Voldemort, Lucius, the Lestrange brothers, Dolohov, Grayback and Draco were the first to arrive on the scene. Of all they could expect it was not to see such a sight. Bellatrix was crying and screaming clutching the stump on her shoulder. In front of her, a dark haired witch lazily confronting her. She was excluding such power and confidence, the men couldn't help but compare her to a vengeful Goddess.

"Crucio" the young woman whispered in her silky voice. Bellatrix fell on the floor hard, screaming even louder.

Voldemort was impressed, whomever that woman was she must have been incredibly powerful, Bellatrix was able to stand his own crucios after all.

Lucius and Draco were torn between surprise seeing the girl they knew so well in such a dark light, and fear for the older man recognizing more than ever the resemblance with her father, and awe for the younger one who admired her show of strength.

Alya removed the curse, feeling her ears ringing from the shrill screams but giving no evidence of it.

"Let make something clear, shall we?" she spoke "First of all, I am no mudblood. Second, the next time I hear you speak of my carrier, I shall cut off your vile tongue with my bare hands"

Grayback smiled, he liked this girl. She had style.

"You go around, bragging about who you are, like everyone should know and fear your name" she continued slowly circling around the fallen woman. Stalking her, like the prey she was.

"But the real question is" she drawled stopping in front of her again and looking down at her face "Do you know who _I_ _am_?"

Silence greeted her question.

Alya narrowed her eyes. "I asked you a question, bitch!" she sneered pressing her heeled boot to her wounded shoulder, earning a new round of anguished screams. "Well?"

"N-no" the woman whimpered

"I'm feeling gracious today. So I will tell you _who exactly I am_ " Alya smiled gently, scaring her even more.

Letting out a wave of her magic –she might as well give a good show since she already gained a public- she introduced herself.

"I am Alya Mira Black Riddle Slytherin" she introduced herself, standing tall and proud. Her eyes glowing in their strange cobalt violet color; the stone on her neck glowing right along with her magic thirsty for blood to be spilled again.

Bellatrix, along with everyone else who didn't know about her, gasped, not believing that this terrifying teen was related to their Lord and awed by her person.

Feral smile still in place she turned towards the group "Good evening, Daddy Dearest." She greeted the Dark Lord Voldemort "How are you this fine evening? Did you enjoy the show?"

Voldemort wanted to deny having a daughter, he wanted to curse this cheeky witch to hell and back. Only he couldn't deny anymore.

Just by looking at her clearly you could see the uncanny resemblance with the young handsome and charismatic Tom Riddle. She was a female version of himself, with the striking Black traits adding to her beauty. The power that kept rolling out of her in waves had the familiar tint of his own magic, of the Slytherin line.

Voldemort found himself forced to face the truth. The girl he had ignored for a year was really his flesh and blood.

"Congratulations, cara. You managed to render a Dark Lord and his inner circle speechless" Blaise applauded, seemingly appearing from the shadows, startling all of them.


	19. Chapter 19

Lucius coughed awkwardly, desperately uncomfortable with the situation.

"Maybe we should relocate somewhere more suited and have Bellatrix seen to?" he suggested, doing his best to keep his voice steady.

"Sounds like a wonderful idea, Uncle!" Alya answered jovially before anyone else could utter a word "How about we all go to the north sitting room? Oh, have the elves bring some tea and biscuits too. I find myself a bit peckish" she said already leading the way, casually walking through the pool of blood formed on the floor.

Blaise followed her, keeping a keen eye on all the present even though he maintained a façade of casualty. At the first sign of danger he was ready to take action.

Slowly the assembled men made to catch up to her, some carefully avoiding the bloody footprints she left in her wake, others like Greyback, looking forward to see what the little firecracker would do next.

When they arrived Alya was already comfortable seated on one of the loveseats. Her hair falling over her right shoulder in a waterfall of ebony curls. Not crazy curls like Bellatrix, rather the elegant loose ones. The contrast with the black hair made her pendant look even more eerie.

Blaise was standing behind her, acting as her personal guard, even though she had pouted at him to sit with her. He didn't relent though, her safety was his priority at the moment. He would snuggle with her at a more suited time.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Sit down, for Merlin's sake!" she waved them to the seats.

She looked as Fenrir took a whole couch to himself, sitting sprawled without a care in the world, instead he seemed amused by her. Lucius and Draco took a nearby settee for them, actually she had seen her cousin trying to sit with her but his father took him by the arm and made him stay with him. Maybe he was afraid that she would start exchanging spells with her father and didn't want his son in the middle. Seemed reasonable. Besides, as good as Draco was, she wanted to cuddle with Blaise!

The Lestrange brothers took the armchairs placed on her left side, quite close to her. She was surprised to see the older brother here and not by his wife's side. How curious. Dolohov, she assumed, had been put in charge of Bellatrix. Poor sod.

Voldemort sat last, taking the armchair directly in front of her.

Refreshments appeared and Alya took one of the pretty little cups. Bringing the warm tea to her lips she studied the present.

"Rodolphus, right?" she asked tilting her head towards the man who nodded "I would say that I'm sorry for blasting off your wife's arm but alas, I'm really not. I would have expected you to be with her though"

The man cleared his throat but his voice remained raspy and low, a lingering effect from Azkaban. 'Has anyone even bothered to give them some healing at least?' she thought looking at the two.

"No need to apologize, my lady"

Oh, what a dear. Already recognizing her as his Lady even though Voldy hadn't spoken yet. She would have to reward him at some point. When it wasn't blatantly obvious that she was doing it for that reason, at least.

"Bellatrix and I are in an arranged marriage. Honestly, we can't stand each other's sight, let alone company"

"I don't blame you. The craziness must be a turn off in itself, but having her acting as your Lord personal groupie must be quite irritating." She mused "You should ask for annulment. Her being sterile is already a breach to your contract clauses"

"I would, but there is no Lord Black to break the contract and I am unable to take my title as a fugitive"

Alya giggled "How silly, Uncle Rod. Can I call you that? Yes? Wonderful." She said. She knew she was acting a little crazy but it wasn't her fault. Blood always made her giddy, especially when she was the one that caused the bloodshed.

"You can't appeal to Lord Black because there's no Lord. Buut" she said drawing out the word "You can appeal to Lady Black. And being the generous Head of the Family that I am, I free you of that harpy. Aren't you happy to have such a thoughtful niece?"

"I.."

"Though if you're not married to Bella, you're not my Uncle anymore" she pouted

"You.. can still call me Uncle if it pleases you" he said uncertainly "My lady"

"Really?!" she cheered clapping her hands.

"I can't decide if you're just a silly child or if you're insane" the gruff voice of the werewolf stated "Which being a Black, is entirely possible"

"Oh?" she giggled "No, I assure that I am sane. Most of the time. No, I'm just a little giddy."

"Mh? Little Lady likes the sight of blood then?" he smirked

"Yes, yes she does" She replied with a shark smile that made him even more amused.

"I like you, little lady" he announced

"I like you too." She said "But you could do with a bath, you stink"

The werewolf laughed uproariously at that. No one ever dared speak to him with such bluntness, they usually suffered whatever he did in silence, afraid to anger him. She had guts.

"You are a fearless little thing, aren't' you?"

"Little I may be, but my bite is worse than my bark" she smiled innocently. He laughed again at the dog reference.

Blaise was trying very hard to keep a composed face and not smile at his silly girlfriend. Only her could win over the most feared werewolf in existence and get to call Uncle a man infamous for his tortures.

"Now, are we going to talk about the elephant in the room or shall we keep praising my beauty and smarts?" she asked taking a sip from her cup. Looking at her acting so dainty and composed now, you would never think she was blasting off body parts mere moments earlier.

"You know" she continued when no one spoke "An 'I'm sorry, I recognize you as my daughter' would suffice" she said, the 'for now' was whispered into her cup.

He saw Draco flinch violently and initially thought it was because of her bluntness, fearing a curse would be flying any moment. Instead she saw a big snake, Nagini, she assumed slithering towards her master.

' _Massster… I'm hungry. Feed me.'_ The snake whined _'ohhh, food. Shall I eat this girl?"_

Faster than lightning Dion had unwound himself from around Blaise's waist, he did not wish to burden his Mistress with his weight after all, and shot forward landing in front of his Mistress feet, hissing angrily

' _You will stay away from my Mistress if you don't want to die!'_ he threatened.

Everyone jumped at the suddenness of the snake movements, actually weary of the five feet long electric blue snake. Snakes this brightly colored tended to be the most dangerous after all. Lucius actually let a squeak escape him. Alya had always been amused by how such a prideful slytherin could be so deadly afraid of his house mascot.

' _Thank you, Dion'_ she hissed smiling at her familiar _'You're such a protective familiar'_

' _You speak_ ' Voldemort said, speaking for the first time that evening

' _Of course I speak'_ she scoffed _'What kind of Slytherin heir would I be, otherwise? Or were you waiting for this as confirmation of my claims?'_

' _You know nothing!"_ he hissed angrily

"Right, the temper and sudden madness" she mumbled to herself, even though everyone heard in the silence of the room. She carefully laid her cup back on the table and produced her wand from her holster.

Faster than eyes could track she had Voldemort petrified "Relax, Daddy dear. I'm not going to harm you. Just checking for something" she smiled

The death eaters had all risen to their feet, wands at the ready to hex the witch. But again, in the blink of an eye they found themselves all disarmed and bound in tight steel ropes, Blaise glaring angrily at them, wands out and daring them to harm his beloved.

For his part, Greyback was enjoying the show still comfortable on the couch, while Draco was looking wide eyed at everyone.

Alya started chanting different revealing charms, trying to diagnose the reason of her Father's insanity. After a long interminable ten minutes, she made an angry and frustrated noise.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she complained.

* * *

 **Thank you to everyone who added my story or their favorite or alerts lists and left a review! New chapters will be coming soon.**


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm back again with a new update. I'm still quite worried for this earthquake so close to home and I'm turning to writing to keep my mind off it. Pleas pray for all the victims and those who were left with nothing because of this tragedy.**

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking?" she complained "Mutilating your soul like that… No wonder you're batshit insane!"

Everyone was now looking at her in confusion while Voldemort was wide eyed. How could this girl know his secret, the reason for his immortality?

"And you didn't have the decency to stop at one…. Nooo, let's make seven, it's such a pretty number!" she mocked running her hands through her hair.

"Who cares if someone finds them and destroys them, too? Whatever shall you ever do with a soul after all, such useless things, they are" she was full on ranting now.

Blaise moved forward and took her into his arms, stopping her pacing.

He hugged her tight in his arms and did his best to sooth her "Calm down, Cara. Whatever it is, I'm sure that there is a solution and you'll be able to help him. Now, take a deep breath"

"Alright, I'm calm now. I can fix this. It's not too late" she said breathing deeply

"Good" he said "Do you need anything?"

She snorted, not ladylike at all "Yes, like a fuck ton of things." She sighed once again passing her hand through her hair "It will take a couple of days to gather it all and prepare the ritual"

"What in Salazar's name are you talking about girl?" Voldemort hissed angrily. He couldn't get out of her petrifying curse and that irked him to no end.

Alya turned angrily at him "Do you know the consequences of creating an horcrux?" she yelled "Did you even bother to properly research before attempting such a feat? NO? Well let me enlighten you." She said

"When you split your soul, you lose that part. Right along with it, you say bye bye to your sanity too! Records state that after a time, people who created an horcrux would become irritable, angry, paranoid before transforming into murdering psychopaths! I can say you have that down already. But it's not all. Nooo. Along with you soul, you split your very core! Your magic is your very essence. Magic is tightly entwined with the soul. When one goes the other follows! Why do you think a wizard can die of magical exhaustion instead of simply becoming a muggle?! Because soul and magic are united in a single wonderful creation that is a wizard's life! So, not only you lost part of your soul by creating horcruxes but your magic too making yourself weaker!"  
She was breathing heavily now, her face red in anger, but she was not done yet.

"Every time you split your soul cleanly in half, same with your magic. EVERY FUCKING TIME! What you are left with is but a shred of your magical core and soul! You're nothing but a shell of the man you were supposed to be decades ago! The only thing left is a murdering psychopath that is too far gone to realize how reckless and idiotically he's acting! You had goals, dreams to better our world. Where are they now? They're lost to your insanity."

She stepped closer to him, putting herself face to face with the man who should be her father.

"I will tell you what happens now. And you will submit without complaint" she whispered coldly "You will subject yourself to the ritual to restore your soul and magic. I don't give a shit if you want to be immortal or a unicorn, you will do it or so help me I will tie you down and force you! You already lost a horcrux, the one that held the biggest part of your being. Do you want to lose anymore?"  
Voldemort widened his eyes in fear. It was not possible! His horcruxes were safely hidden and guarded. Besides he would have felt a part of himself being killed.

"You're wondering how that could happen right? Well, a spirit can't feel much and honestly I think you're far too gone by now to notice if another one was killed anyway. Lucky you, I know a way to recall that piece to the living world. It's incredibly difficult and draining and needs a sacrifice, but I can do it. Aren't you happy to have such a prodigious daughter?" she asked sickly sweet.

"I will need the ritual chamber prepared" she told to her Uncle Lucius "Have the elves sterilize it and do the same to the potion lab, I need that by morning to prepare the potion he will need. Fenrir could I have your assistance in procuring some ingredients?"

"Why?"

"Because you know the forests better than I do and while I could do it myself if I wanted, your help would save me precious time" She said "I'll reward you for your help"

"What's in it for me?" he asked, not needing it, but curious as to what she would offer him. He liked the girl well enough to help her without rewards, but he was not stupid to pass up the offer.

"I will offer medical treatments to anyone in need of it for your Pack" she said

The werewolf looked at her astonished "Wha'? You'll really have someone heal them?"

"No" she said making him frown, before continuing "When I said I was offering it, I meant that I will personally treat them"

The wolf stared at her long and hard for a moment before sighing "I will do anything you ask me. You have my loyalty, little lady"

"Thank you" she smiled gently "But I will only need a few herbs, freshly harvested"

"Just give me the list and it will be done" he nodded gruffly

"Is there anything we can help with, my lady?" Rabastan asked, wanting to make himself useful. After Azkaban he was a shell of the man he was, sickly, gaunt, weak and barely able to hold a wand without his fingers shaking with the effort. Being useless was slowly killing him, he needed to have a reason to live.

Alya looked at him "Yes, there is something" she said. She really didn't need more help but she sensed his desperate need "I need anchors during the ritual. I could do without but if something unplanned happened it would help me concentrate on the problem more easily if I had someone else maintaining the ritual with me. So you, Rodolphus and Blaise will need to learn a spell for me. You will chant it through all the ritual."

"I can do that" the man smiled, happy to finally have a purpose. If he had to keep roaming the halls of this manor one more day like a ghost he really was going to kill himself.

"Good."

Accioing parchment and quill, she wrote down instructions for everyone. She threw a narrowed look at her father, almost daring him to do something to ruin her plans; then she left to buy the needed potions ingredients she would need and all the necessary materials, Blaise close to her heels.

* * *

Heeled boots clicking loudly against the cobblestone pavements of the street, Alya headed towards the Apothecary. Given the nature of certain potions and the need to be administered freshly brewed, this particular shop was open all day and night to give the hospital and whomever had urgent need of ingredients the possibility to purchase them easily and readily.

Blaise was still acting as her shadow, but she didn't mind. She loved him and was grateful for his protectiveness and commitment towards her.

Taking a basket at the entrance of the apothecary she started roaming the shelves and adding ingredients, every once in a while to double check their quality. Halfway through it she asked Blaise to get a second one, because the first basket was full. It was always better to avoid any kind of charm around potion ingredients, even when bottled, so there were no feather light or bottomless charms on the carriers.

Since she was already there, she had decided to stock up on her personal supplies and take all the ingredients she would need to brew all kind of healing potions for the pack, along with the ones required for her father's ritual. By the time she was finished there were four baskets on the counter and a very happy shopkeeper.

Calling for her personal elf, Alya had him deliver the purchases to her room in Malfoy Manor with orders that no one was to touch them.

After that they headed to Knockturn Alley to a store called 'Runes and Rituals' where she would find the other materials needed. She took different candles, chalk made of unicorn horn powder, ritual bowls, an athame, a white silk tunic and three blue ones, different crystals and then headed to the counter.

"Will that be all, miss?" the man asked, weary of the imposing shadowed man at her back

"No, I need a sacrifice for my ritual. What does your shop offer in terms of it?"

"We offer goats, sheeps, chickens.."

"No. I need a stronger sacrifice. Those will not do at all" she waved him off

"Um.. an horse?" seeing her grimace he hurried to remedy "What did you have in mind? I'm sure we'll be able to procure it"

"No.. I don't think you would be able to. Forget about it" she said "The bill, if you please"

"Of course, miss" he said quickly ringing up everything

"What will you need as a sacrifice that they couldn't procure?" Blaise asked once out of the shop

"A unicorn" she said sighing "possibly an old one who's already close to dying. I don't like to kill innocent creatures, but the ritual will only work with a powerful magical creature of the light to contrast the darkness and death of the horcruxes"

"I see.. Leave it to me" he told her "I will go to the Forbidden Forest and find one that fits the criteria. I've been running around the place for half of the past year and I know my way around."

"Thank you" she sighed

"I can't believe he really created horcruxes, and so many of them" He said shaking his head

"Neither can I"

He swung an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to his body "I'll be alright, you'll see"

"Yeah, we just have to survive two more days and one of the most difficult rituals known to wizard kind"

"Details, details" he said before bending down to kiss her.

"I love you" she whispered against his lips

"As do I, mio amore"'mylove' he replied with another soft kiss "Ti amo" 'I love you'

* * *

Once back at the Manor, Alya was emotionally exhausted. Leading Blaise by the hand she walked to her old bedroom, intent on ignoring everyone who tried to keep her from sleep.

Arrived at her destination she pushed Blaise on the bed, before taking off her boots and snuggling against him.

"Goodnight" she whispered placing her head on his shoulder and her hand over his chest

"Goodnight, mia cara" he replied kissing her head softly and curling his arm around her waist.


	21. Chapter 21

When Alya awoke she felt incredibly warm and comfortable. She didn't want to open her eyes, knowing that once she did, this pleasurable feeling would vanish and she would have to face the day. And what an exhausting day it would be!

No, she was perfectly content to stay exactly where she was. Though, it was quite strange that her pillow kept moving up and down. It was also harder than she remembered. Were her pillows at Zabini Manor really that much more comfortable than the ones she remembered here?

Something squeezing her waist drew her attention to the fact that her pillow had grown arms overnight and was now holding her. Not that she minded, quite the contrary. But pillows weren't supposed to move or have arms. So what the hell was going on there?!

Should she open her eyes and check out what the problem was or simply roll with it?

A soft groan made her freeze.

Everything that happened the night before went back to her and she blushed crimson. That was not a pillow at all.

She was wrapped like a koala around her boyfriend.

Swallowing an embarrassed whimper, she opened her eyes a tiny slit trying to gauge the situation. Her head was resting on the boy's chest, she was only now registering the calm thudding of his heart underneath her ear. Her arm was wrapped across his stomach -'his very toned stomach' her mind pointed out suggestively- while the other was curled up between her chest and his side. Their legs were entwined under the sheets. Looking at herself, wondering why she hadn't suffocated in her sleep with her corset, she noticed that she was wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts while he was wearing sweatpants and a wife beater. Blaise must have transfigured their clothes before falling asleep.

She took a deep shuddering breath. That was not planned to happen so soon. She must have been so tired the night before and in need of comfort that she just pulled him into bed with her. At last it was a purely innocent thing, just sleeping, completely clothed; she told herself trying to calm her racing heart. It was a miracle he hadn't woken yet, she was sure it was going to jump right out of her chest.

The question was: what to do now? Could she just go back to sleep and act like nothing happened? Quietly sneak out of bed? No, that was out, Blaise had both his arms wrapped around her waist and was holding her pretty tightly. If she tried to remove them he would probably wake up. Should she wake him? She mentally snorted, good way to be embarrassed earlier than necessary. And what would she tell him then? 'Hey sorry to wake you but I'm having a mental panic attack?

No, just.. no.

"Shut up" Blaise groaned nuzzling his nose into her hair "You're thinking too loud"

She squeaked at the sound of his voice, her traitorous mind registering how deep and husky it was in the morning when still heavy with sleep and ready to turn into a puddle of goo.

"'m sorry" she squeaked, unconsciously burrowing her face into his chest and immediately turning all shades of red when she noticed.

"SSh" he whispered "Just sleep, amore" 'love' he said rubbing one of his hands up and down her back, soothing her. It relaxed her so much that she involuntary fell back to sleep.

* * *

Alya huffed trying to blow the lock of hair away from her face. it was getting pretty irritating. Unfortunately she couldn't use her hands to do it, since the potion needed her complete attention and a single second of delay at any point of his brewing would ruin it completely.

She had been holed up in the lab for hours already, maybe the whole morning, she had lost count of the time after a while.

This was the most difficult potion she had ever brewed in her life. She didn't even know if her Potion Master had ever attempted it either, after all the last time someone made horcruxes had been centuries ago. The vile things had been banned after the they realized the true consequences of making horcruxes.

A soft knock on the door broke her out of her musings, calling for whomever it was to enter.

"How's it coming along, cara?" the smooth voice of her boyfriend asked from somewhere behind her.

"It's still only halfway, but everything looks good for now" she said.

When they woke again that morning, she had been embarrassed still but the comfortable and easy way he acted made her relax. After she was done freaking out, she realized that if she came to wake up like that every day, with her handsome boyfriend laying butterfly kisses all over her face and neck and greeting her with a 'Good morning, bellissima' 'beautiful', then she would be happy.

A tanned hand came into her line of vision and gently removed the hair from her face, going as far as to undo her loose ponytail and plait her long locks into a tight braid.

"Where did you learn to braid hair?" she asked amused, thankful that he was being careful not to jostle her while doing a good job.

"My mother got into an accident once and couldn't use one of her hands for a week. She made me learn how to braid her hair because she couldn't do it herself and she said that spells never got it right" he said shrugging.

"How old were you?"

"Thirteen. I know, not exactly a thing that a boy that age wants to lean" he replied to her giggle "There, I'm done."

"Thank you" she smiled

"You're welcome" he said "Can you stop for a moment?"

"Uh, not really. Why?" she asked confused.

"It's past lunch time and you need to eat"

She sighed, her body giving signs of tiredness and hunger but she ignored them "I'll eat once I'm done"

"And that would be?" He pressed leaning against a free part of the counter.

"Mh, around dinner time?" she said unsure

"Not a chance" he shook his head.

"Blaise, this is extremely volatile and I.. what are you doing?" she asked seeing a fork in front of her face.

"If you can't eat on your own I'll feed you" he stated, daring her not to comply.

She bit her lip, blushing lightly at the intimacy of the action, but then nodded carefully eating the pasta speared on the fork.

"Thank you" she whispered

"You're welcome, cara" he smiled, continuing to feed her until she had eaten all her plate of pasta, some salad and a slice of cake.

"Are you trying to fatten me up" she asked mock angry

"If I was, there would just be more of you to enjoy" he stated "But no, I just know that you skipped breakfast"

* * *

Just as she said, Alya had been holed up in the laboratory all day. Blaise, who had been seen running in the grounds in the morning, had disappeared right after lunch.

So, Draco was irritated. He wanted to interrogate his friend or his cousin about what the hell was going on with them but he just couldn't get a hold of them.

Now, it was dinner time and if they weren't there yet, he would personally drag them to the table. No matter if Alya cursed him to hell and back.

Luckily for Draco, Alya and Blaise decided to grace their hosts with their presence and join everyone else for the evening meal.

The Malfoys, the Lestranges, Dolohov, Greyback and Voldemort were already seated at the table. Alya noted with amusement that Lucius had to give up his precious seat at the head of the table to his Lord.

"Good evening" she greeted, smiling at Blaise who held out her chair, and sitting.

She smiled even wider when she saw Bellatrix glaring at her, one sleeve of her dress hanging loosely at her side, empty. The woman flinched getting a flashback of the previous evening.

"If you're quite done scaring your Aunt" Lucius drawled

"Aww, I was having fun" she pouted

"There, there. You can play with Bella later" Blaise said patting her hand over the table "First you need to eat"

"Fine" she sighed

"Is she always like this" Dolohov asked, having missed last night conversation being ordered to see to Bellatrix

"No" Draco said "Only when she wants to creep out someone. Or when she's high because she's dueling"

"Draaay" she whined "Don't ruin my fun! You're such a spoilsport"

"Am I?" he asked "Why don't we talk about you instead?"

"Me?"

"Yes. What's up with you two?" he asked narrowing his eyes.

"um.." Alya looked at Blaise, unsure of what to answer. She didn't want her cousin to throw a tantrum now that she had to deal with her father. What if her father decided to take interest in her life just now? She hated these mood swings, going from the scary and a little crazy Dark Princess to the shy and insecure Alya.

Oh, Blaise was talking

"It's quite simple, Draco" Blaise said, holding her hand in his larger one "I'm courting Alya and we're currently dating"

Silence greeted the statement and, even though she kept a calm and strong front, she was growing quite worried.

"Ah! Good for you, lad. She's a catch!" Fenrir laughed, congratulating the Italian wizard

"Thank you" Blaise grinned, he quite liked the boisterous wolf

"D-dating?" Draco sputtered "When? How? WHY?!"

"Well, you see Draco when two people like each other very much they.. Oh, sorry, that was the wrong talk" Blaise said seriously.

The intimidating Lestrange brothers fought hard but couldn't help to crack a grin at his cheekiness.

"Wha-? How dare you lay your filthy hands on my sister?"

Blaise arched an eyebrow at the blond who went as far as jumping up and slamming his hands on the table

"Tut-tut Draco. I know your mother taught you better manners than that" And indeed the woman was frowning at him.

"Answer my damn question Zabini!"

"Are you serious?" he asked

"Enough you two!" Alya ordered "Blaise stop riling him up. And you Draco, what's your problem?"

"My problem is that you are… _dating_.. him" he said sneering the word and pointing at the other teen.

"And? What's wrong with dating Blaise?" she asked getting angry "He was there for me when you all threw me out of my home, with barely and explanation and no time to assimilate what was happening. He was the one who held and comforted me when I cried myself to sleep because my father didn't even want to meet me and the rest of my family choose him over me!" she yelled

The Malfoys cringed in guilt at their actions, Fenrir scowled heavily while Voldemort stopped for a moment of clarity of mind to think about his actions in regards to this girl. He couldn't feel remorse, or even guilt, he could admit that in her place he wouldn't be acting differently. No, he would be acting a lot worse, swearing vengeance and death on whomever dared to hurt him. This girl, she was going to help him instead, she wanted to heal him. Unless it was all a plot to kill him…

"Who I date is my choice alone! You don't get to act all angry and displeased about it" she said "Either you're happy for me, that I found I man who loves me for me, or you can keep your thoughts to yourself"

That said she sat back down, glaring at everyone who even thought about speaking, and angrily stabbing her food.

Blaise sighed. That could have gone better, but it could have been worse too. He would have to calm down and comfort his little kitten before going to sleep. Maybe he would get to hold her all night long again.


	22. Chapter 22

Another day had passed and it was now time to start the ritual.

Alya had spent all morning drawing runes on the floors of the ritual chamber using the special chalk make of powdered unicorn horn. It was a long and exhausting task. Even though she only needed to write, the runes needed to be perfectly done and in the exact spot required. A mistake could blow up the whole manor, and them with it, during the ritual.

In the afternoon she had gone back to the lab, adding the last ingredients to the potions and bottling them once done.

Blaise had left in the middle of the night, once she was deep asleep, to procure the unicorn needed to the sacrifice. As promised, come morning she had found an aged unicorn in the stables of the manor.W

When the time for the ritual neared, she handed the blue tunics to Blaise, Rabastan and Rodolphus. They were charged to help her maintain the base ritual by chanting a spell all through it. She had instructed them to cleanse themselves and bathe with the oils left in their rooms, then wear the tunic. Just the tunics.

Voldemort had been similarly instructed, only his own tunic was white.

She had done the same, carefully cleansing herself and bathing with rose scented oils and moon flower extracts. After loosely braiding her hair, so they couldn't bother her, she wore her robes. They were made of the finest acromantula silk, of a deep blue color with silver lining and tiny silver runes etched all through the fabric. When she moved the robe looked like a shimmering night sky. It was closely fitted to her torso, with a sweetheart neckline and long billowing sleeves; and flared from her waist into a wide skirt. Her feet were bare and she wore nothing else bar her Bloody Rose necklace. She couldn't bring herself to take it off and something in her told her that it wouldn't interfere with the ritual, but somehow help her.

* * *

Walking gracefully into the ritual room she saw that everyone was present, standing off to the side of the entrance, afraid to ruin the runes on the floor.

Alya walked right over them, having cast a specific charm that made them stick to the floor and not smudge. She stopped at the cardinal points, each time accioing a different colored candle and placing it on the ground. She did the same with clear crystal, laying them in between each candle, but closer to the middle of the ritual circle.

Nodding to herself she turned.

"I need you three to stay at an even distance from each other. Create a triangle around the circle" she said pointing to where each of them needed to stand.

"You will go to the center of the circle and lay down. It's going to hurt and we don't need you to fall over and break your neck" she said to her father. She was uncomfortable with calling him that to his face while he was so mutilated, unless it was sarcastically.

"Everyone else, out" she ordered "You can see the ritual from the side chamber, but I want no one else inside. Your presence would disrupt the ritual or interfere in worse ways" she said, glaring at a defiant Bellatrix who had to be dragged out by Fenrir.

Calling for the elf she made him apparate the unicorn in the chamber ordering it to petrify it. Having to kill an innocent being was bad enough, but having it whine and fight back would break at heart.

"I'm starting the ritual now. I need you to start chanting as soon as the circle starts glowing" she said getting nods from all the men.

Voldemort laid down, torn between obeying this woman and fight her, paranoid that she was going to kill him somehow by destroying his precious horcruxes.

She may be his daughter but he wouldn't believe it unless Regulus told him himself, something that could not happen, that he had been pregnant with his child.

Taking a deep breath, Alya positioned herself between the second and third circle of runes, there being seven circles in total. With a flick of her wrist she lit the candles and closed her eyes.

In her soft velvety voice, she started chanting, slowly growing in tone and speed. The runes started glowing softly form the first inner circle outwards. Three male voices joined hers in the chanting. Once all the runes were lit, she stopped chanting but kept her magic steady to power the ritual.

Calming her nerves, she kneeled to the floor. That was where the real ritual started. Clenching her fists to stop her hands from shaking, she took the ritual bowl and the vial she left beside it.

Carefully she poured the potion into the bowl, its acid green color reminding of the Killing Course. Then she readied herself for the next step.

Unsheathing the athame, she cut deep into her palm letting the blow flow into the bowl and join the potion. The concoction started slowly swirling, like a miniature lazy whirlpool.

"Blood of the daughter, freely given. You will restore the body to its former glory" she chanted

Rising to her feet, bowl cradled in her hands, she walked to the unicorn. Thankful that the elf had been so thoughtful to put the creature into a forced sleep, she slit its neck let the silvery blood flow into the bowl.

"Blood of unicorn, forcibly taken. You will restore the soul to back to fullness" she chanted again, her voice growing echoing eerily in the chamber.

The men were still chanting in the background, keeping a keen eye on the proceedings.

Alya stroked once the unicorn's neck and snout "Thank you for your sacrifice, oh creature of the light. May your innocence and purity heal the broken soul of my father " she whispered with eyes closed, breaking the ritual for a moment. She had acted impulsively and feared that it would compromise it all; but instead the unicorn, the bowl and she herself glowed brightly for a moment in a silvery light.

Alya smiled, recognizing what happened as the unicorn accepting her apology and giving its blessing to the ritual.

Rising to her feet once again, Alya went to bring the bowl to the center of the ritual. She kneeled by her father's head, laying the bowl between her bent legs and his head.

Dipping a finger into the bowl, she started drawing runes upon his forehead, eyes, cheeks, until they covered all his head. Slowly she moved drawing runes on his arms, hands, on his exposed torso, his legs and feet.

Once she was done she dipped her finger into her still open wound on her hand, and smeared some blood on the main rune over the man's heart.

Holding the bowl and raising it to the sky, she chanted "Oh Great Mother of Magic, hear this daughter's plea. Let this man be reunited with what he once parted with. I give you my blood as a sacrifice, as sign of my loyalty and fidelity. May this ritual be blessed by your grace and wisdom."

A soft wind caressed the chamber, the runes started glowing from the faint yellow to a bright bluish white.

Lowering the bowl to the ground, without touching it, and bowing her head she continued "Oh Grim Reaper, hear this mortal's plea. Let this man be reunited with what he once parted with. I give you this unicorn's blood as a sacrifice, as sign of my respect and acceptance to you. May this ritual be blessed by your shadows and presence"

The breeze became a chilly wind that tousled everyone's hair and threatened to blow out the candles. The runes glowed a grey black, sign of Death's acceptance of her sacrifice.

Alya started chanting in a mix of different ancient and lost languages then, holding the bowl to her father she motioned him to sit up and drink the remaining of the concoction.

Seeing his hesitation, she managed to glare him into submission while keeping up with her chanting.

As soon as the last drop touched his lips, he fell back down whacked by unimaginable pain. Her voice got louder and louder, amplified by her magic and the magic of the ritual. The runes settled for an avada kedavra green glow, intermittently going to red and silvery before going back to green.

Starting from the outside the runes started glowing so bright that the occupants of the chambers had to shield their eyes not to be blinded. When it arrived to the center, Voldemort was completely obscured by the light. Last they had been able to see him he was screaming silently, back arched and muscles tight in pain.

They were still somewhat able to see the form of Alya kneeling on the ground, only hearing her voice still chanting without stopping once.

The men were still reciting the spell, starting to grow uncomfortable; half an hour had passed at least and their dry throats were starting to hurt. They were at a point where after repeating the same thing over and over, the words had no more meaning to them.

Suddenly with a wild wave of magic erupting from the center, everything was done. The men had all staggered back, Blaise managing to stay on his feet while the Lestrange brothers who were extremely weak in body fell to the ground heavily.

Looking on Blaise could see two figures laying on the ground.

Running forward he gathered his beloved in his arms.

"Alya? Alya, amore? Can you hear me?" 'love' he called stroking her face, trying to get her to answer.

She groaned softly after a moment before whispering "'m so tired"

"I know love. You did great" he reassured her, clearing his throat which itched terribly

"Did it work?" she asked, her own voice raspy

Blaise raised his eyes to study the form of Voldemort "Yes, it seems it did, cara" he said "Now rest. I will take care of you"

" 'm kay." She nodded weakly "love you"

"I love you too" he said softly kissing her red lips, before hooking his arms around her form and getting up, holding her bridal style.

"I'll take her to her room" he said to the others "She's exhausted from the ritual." Calling a house elf he ordered him to apparate the Dark Lord to his rooms and let him rest.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Fenrir asked the brothers as he entered the ritual chamber. They were still on the ground and he thought they may be injured

"Yeah" Rabastan rasped "That magic wave fucking hurt though"

"Felt like being trampled by a herd of Hippogriffs" Rodolphus agreed

"Sounds fun. Do you need a hand to get up? A healer?"

"I'm fine" the elder brother said, slowly rising to his feet and groaning as his joints cracked loudly. His brother accepted the help of the werewolf instead.

"I think I broke something" he said gingerly holding his shoulder

"Let's see if someone can look at it" he said "Though I would be weary. No one here has healer training."

"Who the hell treated Bellatrix then?" Rodolphus asked, not really caring for what happened to his wife but worried for his brother.

"Dolohov. And he's more of a butcher than a healer" the wolf said with a shrug of his shoulders

"Why not call Snape. He has some training" the younger one asked

"He's to be kept away from the Manor. Little lady doesn't trust him" he said "I don't know much about it but she promised to explain once the Lord was well"

"Uh. I think I'll keep my shoulder like this" Rabastan stated, not wanting to be subjected to Dolohov's caring hands.

"Suit yourself" was the blasé answer "you can always wait for the Little Lady to feel better and ask her to heal you"

"I think I will do that"

"Now, let's go and get some water in you" Fenrir said walking toward the sitting room "You sound like you just finished a marathon in the desert"


	23. Chapter 23

The sleeping figure on the bed groaned softly, curling tighter into a ball under the sheets.

"Alya?"

"Mmm"

"Wake up love, I have your potions" Blaise whispered, caressing the hair away from her face.

Nodding weakly, she let Blaise help her to a sitting position leaning back against his chest, before drowning the disgusting potions. She was glad that she had the foresight to brew a magic replenishing potion, a pain reliever and a pepper up. She definitely needed them after the ritual. She had left them on the nightstand before the ritual with instruction for Blaise to administer them to her, since she had forgotten to warn him beforehand and had no time to do it before starting.

"Thank you" she whispered after drinking a glass of water, leaning back against him.

"You're welcome, cara" he said kissing her forehead "How do you feel?"

"Exhausted, sore and I want to go back to sleep" she pouted

He chuckled at her adorable face, kissing her pout away and making her mewl in protest when he leaned back. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that the outside world is waiting for us. And I'm sure you want to check on his Darkness"

She sighed "You're right. I need to see if the ritual worked correctly and if there was any damage caused by the complication"

"Complication?" he asked frowning

"Yeah, the reason I'm reduced to this. I'll explain later, now I need a warm shower and fresh clothes to feel somewhat alive"

"Can you stand on your own? Or I should call an elf to help you?" he asked concerned

Alya smiled "Thank you, but I believe I'll be fine"

"Alright. I'm going to shower and change too. I'll wait for you in your sitting room when I'm done" he said, going to his bedroom. Truthfully it had remained mostly unused still, he only went there to shower the night before and to change clothes, the rest of the time he just had kept his things in Alya's room where he had slept the past days.

* * *

Walking hand in hand, Alya and Blaise joined everyone in the dining room. They all looked relieved to see her up and healthy, the only one missing was Voldemort.

Either he was not awake yet or he was feeling as bad as she was moments earlier, maybe even worse. She knew that she probably should go and give him his potions, but she thought that he deserved a little more pain for what he put her through.

"How are you feeling , dear?" Narcissa asked, wanting to go hug her niece but wary of how it would be received, after all no two night ago she had screamed about how much they had hurt her with their actions.

"I'm feeling better." She answered, before doing a double take and staring at Rabastan "What's wrong with you? Are you hurt?"

"My shoulder is injured, My Lady. I hit it pretty hard after the wave of magic at the end of the ritual" he said

"Oh, I'm so sorry" she gasped, walking quickly to him "Here, let me heal it for you"

"Thank you, My lady. But I can wait if need more time to recuperate"

"Nonsense. I don't need to recuperate for this little things" she waved him off, before casting a diagnostic charm and deeming his shoulder dislocated, she fixed it right back with a loud crack that made everyone wince in sympathy "Sorry, but it's better when the patient isn't warned beforehand"

"It's fine" he gasped "It's already starting to feel better"

"Good. Milly!" she called for her house elf "Fetch me a pain reliever, please"

Rabastan drowned it sneering at the foul taste, before thanking her again.

It was just in that moment that the Dark Lord joined them. He was walking stiffly and leaning against the walls, but the difference with what he looked before was striking.

The once snake like man with grey skin and no nose was gone. In his place was a still incredibly tall man, with a slim built, pale skin and signs of tiredness showing on his face, but he was human.

Soft wavy black hair covered his head, falling slightly into his deep cobalt eyes, his nose and cheeks were aristocratic, his lips thin. He sported a slight five o'clock shadow, probably unused to having to shave again, after such a long time she was sure he completely forgot about facial hair.

Looking from Alya to the man they could see the resemblance as clear as day. Alya was definitely her father's daughter, with a few Black features coming through.

"My Lord" Lucius greeted him, quickly rising to his feet.

She raised an eyebrow. Had her Uncle always been such a bootlicker to the man? It was a little pathetic, especially with how proudly he usually acted.

"Lower your voice, Lucius" the man hissed, nearly slipping into parseltongue "My head is killing me" he groaned holding his forehead and sinking into the first armchair he found.

"Well" Alya drawled, snuggled under Blaise's arm "It seems that the ritual worked, at least the part when it makes you look human again"

Voldemort hissed again, irritated that that girl would not have the decency to whisper instead of talking loudly.

Taking out her wand, Alya softly chanted a spell before nodding to herself.

"Well, I can safely say that it worked as it should. You're now whole and healed"

"Does that mean he's not insane anymore?" Blaise asked, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger

"Well, no more insane that he was at the beginning, before making horcruxes" she said shrugging

"If you're done speaking like I'm not in the room" the man sneered

"Oh? What is this? Could it be that you don't like to be ignored?" she asked sneering "Well, though. Now you know how I felt for a year, daddy dearest"

"Don't call me that!" He snapped "I'm not insane anymore, but I still don't believe that you're my daughter"

Alya raised her hands in the air, frustrated and incredulous at this man stubbornness "What the hell do you need to believe it?!"

"I will only believe it if Regulus himself were to say it, which won't happen" he stated.

Everyone looked, disbelieving and weary, between the two powerful Slytherins.

"Is that so?" Alya asked coldly

"Yess"

"Suit yourself you stubborn old man" she snapped "Just remember that if it wasn't for me you would be two horcruxes down now, and soon nothing more than dust"

Seeing the confusion on his face, she explained "First the diary, which somehow made its way to Hogwarts and used the Weasley girl to open the Chamber and wreak havoc. Potter killed it with a fang from the basilisk." she said "Poor creature had to die because two idiotic men decided to play war" she sniffed

"And the second, it was a pretty big part of your soul, so I would guess the second or third you made. It was unexpected, Dumbledore must have killed it in the last two days because when I did my scan the only part missing was from the diary"

"The ring" Voldemort whispered before smirking viciously "That'll teach him to poke his big crooked nose where it doesn't belong. He's probably dead already"

"I wouldn't bet on it. His pet death eater probably found a way to stop whatever curse you put on the ring" she informed him "Thanks to this little complication, the ritual nearly failed"

"How so?" Dolohov asked curiously

"The sacrifices were enough only to recover one piece of soul from the afterlife. I would have needed a second unicorn to offer in place of the second horcrux killed. As it was, I had to pump nearly all of my magic into the ritual to make up for the missing sacrifice and it still wasn't enough" she said quietly toying with her necklace "It saved my life"

"Who?" asked Draco

"The necklace. The Bloody Rose started heating up at one point, when I felt like the ritual would suck out all my magic, Death was angry to find that the sacrifice wasn't enough and wanted retribution. It was going to take my life" she admitted

Blaise tightened his arms around her, making sure that she was still alive and whole next to him, the realization and fear that he could have lost her hitting him hard

"What happened then?" prodded Fenrir

"The Bloody Rose.. it.. it started bleeding" she said, still amazed herself about such a feat "The blood seemed to flow right into the air to be siphoned into the runes. There was so much blood.."

"All the women killed by the curse of the Rose" Blaise said awed

"Probably" she nodded "Death seemed elated by the new offer of blood and quieted. The necklace saved my life" she said looking at Blaise with misty eyes

He cupped her cheek and kissed her deeply "I'm so glad that the Bloody Rose seems to like you, cara." He laughed lowly "Ti amo" 'I love you'

"Ti amo anch'io" 'I love you too' she smiled back to him.

Draco fidgeted awkwardly at the display, only the sheer fear of what she would do to him kept him from coughing loudly. Narcissa was cooing at the adorable couple, already dreaming children with blue eyes and tanned skin running around; Lucius was more skeptical, he didn't think that some Italian wizard was good enough for the girl. The Lestrange brothers and Fenrir limited themselves to smirking, a little envious maybe that someone so much younger than them was the only one getting some.

Voldemort, well, he was still a mass of confused feelings of which he didn't know how to make head or tail. He would need plenty of hours of meditation and time to start recognizing what he felt and why.

* * *

 **Thank you to everyone who added the story to their alert or favorites lists and left a review. What did you think of these new chapters?**

 **Just as head up, I've finished writing the story just now. It will be 100 chapters, so get ready xD**


	24. Chapter 24

**It's been a while since I last upated but I had to deal with some problems in my life. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

An elf popped in the room, startling the present and making the couple return to the real world.

"Milly brings Mistress potions, like Mistress ordered" she said

"Thank you Milly. Can you please ask the kitchen elves to send up some breakfast?" nodding happily the elf popped away again.

"Those are for you" Alya said to her father "They are a magic replenishing potion, a pain reliever and a pepper up. You need them" she explained at his dubious look.

He sighed once he started feeling the effects of the potions working "Did Severus supply the potions? I haven't seen him around, recently"

Alya snorted "No, thank you very much. I made them personally." She said "As for Snape, I asked Uncle Lucius to restrict his access to the manor. I didn't need Dumbledore's pet snooping around"

"What do you mean?"

"He's a double spy" she stated "But the question is: where does his loyalty lay?"

"Severus would never.." Lucius started to protest

"He wouldn't? Then why did you keep me so well hidden from him every time he would come to the manor?" she asked "You don't trust him and with good reason. Dumbledore spoke for him at the end of the war, saying that he was a spy for the light. He gave him a safe place to live and work, all in exchange of his skills as a spy of course"

"But he was a double spy in the last war too" Narcissa pointed out

"Yes, he became one when he went to Dumbledore to plead for his Lily's life" she snorted "Since then he was loyal to the light.. no, not as much as the light, as the memory of the woman he loves. The Dark Lord killed her, so he must die to avenge her. He protects Potter because he promised himself to do it when Lily died. But he's a cunning snake, doing all he can to survive. That means that his loyalties switch constantly, depending what is more convenient at the time. You can't trust such an individual"

"So, you think he's really spying on us for Dumbledore?" asked Rodolphus

"He's spying on both sides without any qualms and reporting what he thinks would be more useful for him and the situation." She sighed "He's a too wild card to allow him to roam free"

"I will not tolerate any kind of betrayal. If Snape is a traitor as she says he will pay with is life" Voldemort hissed angrily. He was not insane but he was still very much ruthless.

"Or.." Alya said drawing out the word "You can keep him in a false sense of security, make him believe that you're still the insane snake-face and feed him wrong and misleading information while pumping him of all his knowledge about the Order of the Chickens" she said daintily biting her pastry. She was famished and had no intention of waiting all this serious discussions to finish to have some food.

"I must recognize the validity of this advice" Voldemort drawled "I will think about it before deciding. For now, Lucius keep him away from the manor and inform me immediately should he try to come"

"Yes, my Lord" the blond said bowing his head

"Good"

Alya looked around before huffing "Would you lot just eat something? You're making me feel like a pig for starting alone!" she complained

Blaise chuckled, kissing her temple before serving himself some coffee and food. Everyone seemed to follow him when the Dark Lord didn't start throwing curses around.

"Eat!" Alya ordered her father "The potions are to _help_ you feel better. But to really get better you need actual food"

Voldemort glared at her, reaching blindly for some pastry. On the inside his heart was bleeding, she had sounded so much like Regulus would when he failed to look after himself preferring to overwork. Shaking his head he vanished those traitorous thoughts. He would not accept it.

Another elf popped into the room soon after they finished eating.

"Tippy sorry to disturb" she said twisting her ears with her hands

"Stop hurting yourself" Alya ordered when Lucius failed to tell the little creature anything, throwing the man a narrowed glare "What is it?"

"Letter arrived for Missy" she said "Tippy comes because letter look important, Missy"

"Thank you very much Tippy" she said taking the letter from the elf's hand "You may go"

"Why you insist on being polite with these things I will never understand" Lucius sneered

"That's because they will be happier to serve you this way, the happier they are, the better they work to make you proud of them" she said "Plus, just because they need to be bonded to wizards to survive, it does not make them slaves. They have feelings too and should be treated well."

"Rubbish" the man scoffed

"Oh? Rubbish? Is that why Dobby was so quick to accept freedom when Potter offered to it to him?" she asked "Is that why he was so gleeful to throw you against a wall the first chance he got?"

"How do you.."

"I have my sources" she said, squeezing Blaise's hand "had you treated him well, he would have refused to betray you and he would have never dreamed of injuring you in any way"

"That's no-"

"Enough Lucius!" Voldemort interrupted him "The girl is right, it's useless to disagree"

"But.. my Lord? You.."

"What? I was insane" the man almost snorted "I treated wizards like shit, I hardly would have been polite with a creature"

"What's your take on other creatures, little Lady?" Fenrir asked curiously. After all just because she offered medical treatment to his pack, it didn't mean that she didn't want them all extinct or shipped off into a containment camp.

"Well.." she mused twirling the letter in her hands "I think Veelas shouldn't be allowed to use their allure. No that came out wrong, they should train in reigning it in better. Many young teen girls risks getting raped because they can't control their allure yet, many men think they can abuse veelas and then blame it on the allure. I think that if someone just isn't able to control it, then some way to control it for them should be created, like a medallion that suppresses it for example. But there are also those who abuse it to get what they want, there should be tests done before agreeing to a marriage or signing a contract when a veela is involved to make sure the other party is not being influenced"

"You really thought about it" Rabastan whistled

"She says the truth though" his brother said "Our great-great-great uncle fell under a veela's allure and she got him to marry her, the poor man was her puppet and no one could do anything to help him because they bonded by magic. Someway to protect both wizards and veelas should be implemented"

"What about vampires?" prodded Dolohov, amused by the conversation.

"Blood banks" she stated "They would have a way to safely feed without killing or turning anyone unwilling. They would register and be able to get donated bagged blood, be it muggle or magical, conserved in stasis. It could either be for free or at a very cheap price, depending on how it would be organized. They could even be allowed to drain criminals. Muggles put to death in the muggle world or magicals that are without doubt guilty of the worst crimes."

"You're a vicious little thing" Fenrir commented "I like you"

"Thank you. I like you too. But I guess you asked this question wishing to know my thoughts on werewolves, am I right?"  
At the man's nod she continued "Well. I think they should be able to either learn how to accept their inner wolf and transform painlessly as you do or be able to buy the wolfsbane potion. I know that it is not very good for the wolf's body, but it would allow them to keep their minds and not kill or bite anyone until a better potion was invented –which I intent to research about-. And for the record I do not approve you going around terrorizing people and turning little children" she said with a small glare "I think they should be given the same rights as other magicals, be allowed to learn magic and work. They would just need a few sick days a month."

"I see" the man nodded "and for the record, I went around biting children only because their parents were pushing for a law that allowed wizards to kill werewolves on sight or experiment on them. Turning their children I stopped them from passing it"

Alya blinked "That's awful. I did not know about it. I apologize for judging you without knowing your reasons, it was wrong of me"

"No biggie, little Lady. I received worse" the man smirked shrugging

"Is there a creature you're even a little prejudiced about or you don't like?" Lucius asked with a mild tone of disgust

The girl blinked thinking hard about the question "Well.. if I really have to say it.. acromantulas"

"Acromantulas?" Dolohov asked. Of all the creatures she choose the ones that resided only in the Forbidden Forest and would probably never come in contact with.

"What?" she asked at their looks of disbelief "They're horrible! With all their little eyes, and those long creepy hairy legs…and" she shuddered "Merlin, I feel my skin crawl just thinking about it"

"Little Lady afraid of spiders?" Fenrir laughed making her pout

Blaise snorted "You don't know the half of it. Last summer she stayed at mine. One day I hear a blood curling scream coming from her room and I run there as fast I can, thinking the worse" he said "Well, she was standing on her bed, clutching her pillow like some kind of weapon and shaking like a leaf. When I ask where the danger is the points to a tiny little spider at the other side of the room." He deadpanned at the end

"It was fast though!" she tried to defend herself "And scary"

"Aww, don't worry, cara. I'll protect you from all the mean spiders" he cooed at her, petting her hair like he would to a small child.


	25. Chapter 25

"Shouldn't you open your letter, dear?" Narcissa asked pointing at the envelope still clutched in the girl's hand

"Oh! I completely forgot about it! Must be my results!" she exclaimed excited.

"What results?" Wondered Draco

"My NETWs scores, silly!" She smiled

"Aren't you a little too young to take those exams?" Voldemort said eyeing her suspiciously. If she took the Newts, she must be at least seventeen, meaning she was not his daughter. There, problem solved.

"I am, by British standards." She admitted "But I don't attend Hogwarts" she said with a little grimace "I'm a student at The Academy of Magic of Salem. We take Owls in third year, Newts in fourth and receive our Masteries in seventh year. Some happen to stop at the Newts but it's mainly due to extreme circumstances that they are forced to drop their studies. Students at the Academy are the best the magical world has to offer and we tend to leave the Academy with multiple Masteries." She explained.

Voldemort looked intrigued by this school and their ethics, he could go as far as to say that had she really been his daughter then he would feel proud. Only, she wasn't.

The other death eaters looked shocked and impressed that such a young girl could attempt to take those infernal exams when they nearly killed themselves doing it at the right age.

"I forgot about that" Draco mused "Well, open it"

"Uhm.." she bit her lip before handling the letter to Blaise "You see, I can't open it" she said anxiously

"Relax, cara. You will have done splendidly, I'm sure" he reassured her, taking the envelope. Breaking the seal, he pulled out the parchment inside and started reading.

"Well?" she asked after a few moments of silence

"Mmh? Sorry, I was just shocked at these marks." He said "Anyway, here it says that you just set the new record for highest scored in.. well, every subject bar divination. Congratulation, amore"

"You mean I passed them?" she exclaimed happily.

"No, I mean you totally blew them away with your awesomeness" He chuckled when she launched onto his lap to hug him. Cupping her chin in hand, he softly kissed her whispering "I'm proud of you, Tesoro" 'darling' making her smile brightly at him.

"If you're quite done making me nauseous" Draco drawled with a sneer on his face "The rest of us would like to know your actual marks"

"Gee, Draco. You need to get laid" Blaise teased him "You're starting to sound like an old spinster with too many cats"

"Fuck off" he snapped

"Draco!" Narcissa gasped at his foul language

"Sorry Mother"

"Now, your marks dear?" The woman asked sniffing distastefully at her son's conduct. Clearly he was associating with bad influences at school.

"Well, like Blaise said. I got top marks in every subject bar divination." She said "I'm honestly surprised that I managed to do this good in things like necromancy and wand making. I'm not exactly gifted in this fields"

"You take necromancy at school?" Rodolphus sputtered almost choking on his tea

"Yes" she said blinking confused "We study every field on magic, no matter if banned, illegal or forgotten. The school motto is 'knowledge is power' after all, it would be stupid not to learn something only because some idiot says it shouldn't be practiced"

The death eaters were looking at her astonished. Voldemort was more and more interested in this Academy, had he known its existence, he would have never gone to Hogwarts. Such a pity he had to miss this kind of education and the infinite possibilities that would have opened for him. He was envious of this child. He was also impressed by her capabilities.

* * *

Alya was humming to herself while bottling the last batch of potion she made. She had planned with Fenrir to leave the next day to visit his pack and administer any healing necessary. Blaise would of course go with her and she had noticed the Lestrange brothers pretty interested. She guessed they could tag along too if their physical condition permitted them. They seemed to have good days and really bad ones. She would have to perform a full medical scan on them, willing or unwilling. Strapping them to a bed and force them to swallow several disgusting potions was no problem for her.

"You can come in Dray" she suddenly said, never stopping from her work "You're starting to creep me out if you continue to stare at me from the doorway"

"I missed you"

"I did too"

"Are.." he swallowed "Are you really happy with Blaise? You know of his reputation right?"

"Tell me, did you ever see him with any girl in the last year?"

"Well.. no, but just because I didn't see it, it doesn't mean nothing happened"

"I know instead. He is serious about this, about us." She said looking at her older cousin "Do you know what this necklace is?"

"Should I?"

"It's the Bloody Rose. A family heirloom of the Ombra family, usually given to one's fiancée or wife" she explained waiting for the blond to catch up

"You're not married or engaged right?"

"Not yet."

"So.. it means he is really fucking serious about you" Draco sighed, dragging a hand over his face resigned "Alright. I'll play nice from now on, just no PDA in front of me, please. And if he hurts you I'll kill him"

Alya giggled "Oh Dray.. If he hurts me there won't be much left for a funeral, let alone for you to hurt him. But I appreciate the thought" She smirked making him chuckle in amusement

"That's the vicious little sister I know and love"

* * *

Tying her hair in a high ponytail when getting out of the bathroom after her shower, Alya climbed on the bed and crawled towards the headboard, where her boyfriend was leaning against reading a book.

He had lowered the book the instant the door of the bathroom had opened and was now staring at her hungrily.

"Careful, kitten. You look entirely too tempting like this." He warned her in his silky drawl "I may decide to forget I'm a gentleman and ravish you all night long"  
She blushed and giggled a little, knowing that even though he said that he would never force himself on her if she wasn't ready o willing. Gathering her in his arms and sitting her in his lap, he kissed her deeply, making her mewl in pleasure.

"Are you okay?" he asked. They were snuggling together spooning under the covers now, after a long and heated make out session that left them both felling content and dissatisfied at once.

"What do you mean?" she asked turning to look at him from her place against his chest

"I'm talking about your father. How he still refuses to admit you're his even now that he's whole and somewhat sane"

She sighed and settled back down, glad for the strong arms tightening around her waist "Part of me can understand it, he's been a spirit for a decade and insane for even longer, he's bound to take a while to be himself again and accept things. Not counting that I still don't know in what kind of relationship he was in with Regulus. The other part just wants to bash his head against a wall until he sees the obvious"

He chuckled lowly at the last part "I would pay to see it. Seriously though, I may be the one to do it if he continues to hurt you"

"Oh? You'll face the big bad scary dark lord for little old me?"

He hooked his finger under her chin and tilted her head "I would go to hell and back for you" he whispered against her rosy lips before closing the distance and giving her the sweetest kiss she could ever wish.

"Are all Italians so passionate and romantic?" she asked still dazed from the kiss

"Who cares? I'm the only Italian you need, amore" he said nonchalantly before growling 'You're mine' and moving to attack her luscious lips again.

"Absolutely" she agreed, turning fully and looping her arms around his neck in a silent demand for more kisses. He was only too happy to oblige.

* * *

The next morning Alya decided to dress comfortably in jeans and sneakers with a simple t-shirt on top. She doubted that the pack lived in great conditions, probably close to some forest if not within.

Lucius grimaced at her choice of dress, scrunching his nose at having muggle wear in his home.

"What are you doing in those?" he hissed

Alya raised an eyebrow "Do you expect me to trek the forest in a sundress and heels?" she asked sarcastically

"I see no reason for you to do something so plebeian" he sniffed.

"Good thing it doesn't concern you what I do or don't do" she deadpanned. She loved the Malfoys but the older she got the more Lucius got on her nerves, with his narrow mindedness and arrogance.

"You do not speak to me in that way, young lady! I am your guardian and you will respect me!" he snapped, seeming not aware that the others death eaters and his lord had joined them at some point.

She took a deep breath, calming her nerves lest she maim the man. "First of all you don't have any legal document naming you my guardian, as I barely have a birth certificate and only filed with Gringotts. Secondly, I just earned my NEWTs, that makes me a legal adult, as per ICW legislations"

"The girl sure knows how to shut you up, Lucy" Antoin Dolohov snickered making the blond Lord glare at him.

Voldemort sat quietly, waiting to see how it would end between the two. He expected the girl to be more respectful towards her uncle seeing as he took her in, but maybe she was just an ungrateful brat that had grown arrogant due to her achievements.

"You will respect me while under my roof or.."

"Or you'll kick me out again?" she sneered

"Enough, you two" Narcissa butted in, hating to see her beloved husband arguing with the girl she loved like a daughter "Everyone will respect each other, no more arguing. Please"

Lucius looked like he wanted to protest, his thin lips tightly pressed together and fist clenched on that tabletop. Alya wondered if he would speak up or let it go to make his wife happy. Evidently not being thrown out of their bed was more important that winning against a teen in his mind.

"I will go visit the Greyback Pack this morning, I'll be out all day long probably" she told her Aunt

"Are you sure it will be safe, dear?"

"Why shouldn't it? I'm going to heal them not to fight. Besides should anyone be aggressive I'm sure that Fenrir will put them in place" she smiled towards the werewolf who nodded vigorously at her statement

"What if Fenrir is distracted or late or far from you if something happens?" Narcissa insisted again, not comfortable with the thought of her little girl being surrounded by beasts

"In that case, Blaise will protect me." She stated "If I don't protect myself first. Why does everyone keep seeing me as a damsel in distress I will never understand. I fucking blew up Bellatrix arm!" she grumbled none too quietly making the men at the table chuckle.

Narcissa pursed her lips but nodded, knowing that it was a lost battle against her niece.

"My Lady" Rabastan called "If it's alright with you, my brother and me would like to accompany you to the pack"

"Of course, you're welcome to join us as long as you don't push yourselves too much."

"Thank you for your concern, but we'll be fine" Rodolphus said

"Sure, just wait until I get my hands on you" she whispered already planning how many potions to feed them to get them back to what they should be.

Apparently she wasn't as quiet as she planned and she could see the brothers exchanging worried looks.

* * *

 **Thank you for following my story and adding it to your favorites or alerts lists! I look forward to reading you reviews!**


	26. Chapter 26

**I sincerely apologize for such a long wait, but I've been unwell and had to stay in the hospital for a little bit. I'm getting better now and I've also found my muse back. Apparently getting dead bored in a hospital room has his uses.**

 **Well, I won't say more and leave you to the story. Hope you like.**

* * *

After breakfast Fenrir created a portkey to take them all to his pack while Alya summoned her medical bag. She had packed it the night before with any potion, salve, herb she may need along with enough gauzes for an army.

They found themselves in the middle of a clearing, just outside a forest. Fenrir explained that his pack lived on the other side of the forest and that they had put several wards, confounding charms and compulsions on the outskirts of the forest to discourage people from venturing in. The ones that did it anyway often found themselves caught in the traps laid around.

He urged them to stay close to him and not venture away if they wanted all their libs to remain attached.

After a long trek they arrived in another clearing, this one extremely wide, enough for a village to be built inside and surrounded by forest on all sides.

The wolves had been wary of the wizards at first, some even refusing to be visited and healed by Alya. She could understand their reluctance but it was making her work needlessly harder.

Fenrir was busy speaking with his pack, mainly the males, trying to make them understand that the girl was a friend and wanted to help them, leaving the group of wizards to stand uncomfortably on the side.

"Maybe he should have warned them beforehand" Rabastan grumbled

"Hush" his brother reprimanded him "It's his pack, you don't question the alpha's decisions"

Just then one of the cubs broke away from his mother and ran towards the strangers, curiosity getting the better of him. Alya caught him in her harms as he tripped and was about to painfully fall to the ground.

Before she could realize the situation the air was filled with angry growls of battle.

Turning, careful to shield the cub in her arms she saw two wolves snarling at each other. The one facing her looked enraged and out for blood, he had reddish brown fur and one of his ears had the tip bitten off. The other that she could only see from behind was a deep midnight black, he was hunched down to protect her and ready to attack at any moment. He was growling menacingly and coupled with the fact that he looked bigger than the other wolf, he looked intimidating.

The smaller wolf jumped forward, his intention to avoid the other wolf and attack her but he was intercepted by the black one who rose to his hind legs and sunk his teeth in the soft jugular.

The reddish fur quickly became dark red with blood, pained whimpers escaping from his muzzle. The black wolf showed no mercy though until the other turned on his belly in a sign of submission. Only then he released the flesh between his razor sharp teeth and turned to check on her. He circled around Alya multiple times, sniffing and making sure there was no scratch on her. Before rising to his hind legs and licking her check.

"I'll be damned" Rodolphus exclaimed "The boy sure is dangerous"

At his words the wolf turned back into Blaise and the young man smirked smugly.

"Yes, that was some fight" Fenrir agreed "I didn't expect you to be 'one of us', so to say. I'm impressed by the mastery you show of your form"

"Thank you" Blaise nodded

"Maybe we could spar together sometimes" the werewolf grinned excited at the prospect of such a competent adversary

"Sure."

"What the hell happened?" Alya snapped, irritated by the casual way they were acting

"Ya see little lady" Fenrir said "This idiot here saw you catch his cub and reacted without even knowing what happened and tried to kill you. Fortunately your knight in dark armor was here"

"Well.. That's just stupid" she said glaring at the man still on the ground "I just avoided your cub a nasty fall to the ground. I came here to heal those of the pack who needs treatment, not to hurt anyone!"

"That's what I was telling them" Fenrir nodded "Though I didn't have much luck, as you can see"

"That's because you men can't think with your upper heads" She snapped "Bunch of morons all of you"

"Now, that's not true" Rabastan tried to defend

"Hush" she turned to the werewolf still assembled away from them "I take charge of the situation from now on"

"Listen girl, you can't" one of the men tried to object

"Shut up! You will all shut the fuck up and obey, otherwise I'm going to become very unpleasant to deal with and you won't like that believe me" she threatened calmly "I want all the ones who are wounded badly first, then the ill children. After that I will see every one of the pack, No EXCEPTIONS, in this following order, children, women and men."

"Better not cross the Dark Princess" Blaise warned them

"Yeah, the last one was Bella and she finds herself missing an arm" Rabastan snickered, amused by his sister in law's conditions. The bitch had it coming, he hated the way she thought she was the queen of the world, how she threw herself at their Lord uncaring of her bond with his brother and how she cursed anyone without reason.

Some of the wolves were now looking at Alya both impressed by her commanding presence, despite her young age and short stature, and startled by the man's word. That a so innocent and sweet looking girl could be so vicious and against a woman that everyone was weary of, made them reluctant to anger her.

The poor idiot who tried to attack her, were he still in wolf from, he would have tucked his tail between his legs whimpering pitifully at his stupidity.

One by one every member of the pack was visited and healed by Alya, she had transfigured a little tent so they could be tented to in private without her having to ask for one of their homes as a base. Fenrir stayed present all the time, unless one of the women needed to undress, in this case he would step just outside of the tent flaps but still near enough to be near his pack.

After the first few patients, word sped quickly of her skill and gentleness. Not only that but they all realized that she really did not care of their creature status, she treated all of them as equals. With the pups she was all smiles, knowing they would be afraid, and once they were done they got some kind of sweet from her as reward for their bravery.

When lunch time came she could be found playing with the younger cubs while Blaise was mock wresting with the older boys in wolf form. Fenrir could barely believe his eyes, that wizards could interact so freely and happily with his pack was something he could have never thought could happen, let alone having the Dark Princess lowering herself playing with what were commonly defined child monsters.

It was both heartwarming and an honor to witness such a sight for the old werewolf.

In the end Alya decided to spend the rest of the day with the pack, moving to talk to the women once the pups were put down for a much deserved nap, now exhausted from all their playing; while Blaise moved to spar with the older men, giving and receiving tips on his fighting in wolf form.

Amusingly enough, the Lestrange brothers were taking a nap too. The two men had been adamant of the fact that they were fine and all, but as soon as they sat down after lunch they had fallen asleep leaning on each other.

* * *

The group reappeared in the dining room just in time for dinner and wasted no time in diving for the food.

"Care to explain why you lot are behaving like savages?" Narcissa asked with pursed lips. Couldn't they have gone to wash up before the meal at least? Someone definitely smelled bad.

"We're hungry" Alya answered as the only one without a mouth full of food "I had to do a lot of healing and diagnostic charms get tiring too after the first thirty patients." She said "then I also played with the cubs, they sure are full of energy… I'm never giving candy to a child again" she complained

Fenrir snorted "Those are bouncing of the walls on a good day without any candy, your sweets certainly didn't help"

"How was I to know that were children are so hyperactive?" she pouted

"Doesn't explain why the rest of them can't eat like civilized people" The older woman insisted, she had always been anal about etiquette

"I sparred with the wolves all day, I'm starving" Blaise quickly said before attacking another chicken leg

"You fought with wolves?" Draco asked wide eyed

"Yup. I got a good workout and several fighting tips from the older warriors" he nodded "I'll have to go back sometime, if Fenrir is ok with it of course"

"Anytime, little alpha" the wolf smirked. He had ample time to observe and judge the young man during the day and after a spar between the two of them he was ready to acknowledge him as his equal. The other people seated at the table did a double take at his address of the boy but he just shrugged off their inquisitive looks. If the little alpha didn't want his animagus form to be known he certainly wouldn't tell and he knew that the brothers felt the same way.

"I trust that everything is settled with your pack, Fenrir?" Voldemort asked, stopping Narcissa from complaining more about their state. He could see the grass stains on their clothes and honestly he could care less.

"Yes, the little Lady healed all my warriors and took care of the ill children." The alpha said "Thanks to her generosity my pack is going to proper this season"

"Good" the man nodded

"Don't forget that I'm willing to come anytime your pack needs me" Alya piped up smiling. She had fun with the pups and women of the pack and was happy to be able to help them.

"I'm going to call for a meeting of the inner circle soon" Voldemort continued, as if she never spoke "I'm just going to decide how to deal with Severus first"

"I say feed him to your snake" Fenrir suggested

"I still have use of him" he drawled "But once it's all said and done he will pay, make no mistake of it"

"My Lord" Lucius called "When will Draco be marked to join our cause?"

Alya scrunched her nose, not liking the idea of her cousin being branded like cattle

"Soon, Lucius"

"Is that what Draco wants or what you want?" she asked Lucius

"He will be honored to serve our Lord"

"Really?" she drawled "I thought that Malfoys bow to no one" she recited his favorite motto "And now you want Draco to be a servant?"

"That is not the meaning of becoming a death eater you insolent little girl!"

"Sure, as if you don't bow to kiss the hem of his robes every time he calls for you" she mocked "Draco will not be marked as a death eater, unless that is what he really wants. Otherwise he will me MY follower" she stated

"You can't decide this sort of thing. Learn your place!" Lucius bellowed

"I know perfectly well my place. As it is, I'll always be above you"

That said she tossed her napkin on the table and left the room, tired of having to argue with her uncle because of his stupidity at every meal. When did he become so obtuse? Could his short stay in Azkaban have done all this damage? In less than a month at that..

"My Lord, I apologize for her insolence" Lucius pleaded, ready to fall on his knees should his lord ask him to

"Silence, Lucius" Voldemort said "Tell me young Draco. What is it that you want?" he asked, mainly out of curiosity for what his answer would be

"I wish to follow Alya, My Lord" he said, his voice shaking but trying his best to stand proud.

"Is that so? And why exactly is that?"

"She is extremely powerful, as you could see, she is also very smart and cunning, the very essence of a Slytherin. Her ideas and goals are what we really need to make our world prosper." He said "I believe that she will achieve great results, without the use of excessive violence or starting another war"

Voldemort chuckled amused by the naïve view of the world of the kids and by his loyalty to the girl "How about a compromise? I will wait to mark you, but you will still obey my orders in the meantime. If your precious cousin shows that she is capable of what you say in.. a year? ..I will leave you to follow her otherwise you will take my mark. What you say Draco Malfoy?"

"I accept, My Lord" Draco said without hesitation "I have the utmost faith in Alya's abilities and I know she will reach her goals"

'This will be fun' Voldemort thought, ready to see what the little girl that kept claiming to be his daughter was capable of.


	27. Chapter 27

"You did what?" Alya screeched "He did what?" she screamed again turning to Blaise.

"You got it the first time, I'm not repeating all that" Draco drawled sitting cross legged on the foot of her bed while she was standing on her knees looking torn between bashing her head against a wall, smothering herself with a pillow or cursing him to oblivion. He personally liked the first two options better, her curses fucking hurt.

"You will die a slow and painful death, Draco Malfoy" she warned him

"I was afraid so. In the meantime why don't you try to win the bet and show your father where to stick it?" he suggested

"Oh, I will. That he has the gall to doubt me after having seen what I'm capable of is nothing but an insult" she said fuming "I'll make him beg on his knees to call him daddy"

Blaise pressed a fist against his mouth to stifle his laughter. His little kitten was a real spitfire.

"Yeah, yeah" Draco waved her off "Now start planning. I'll not have my perfect skin marred by that ugly tattoo" he proclaimed

"How cute" Blaise teased him

"If I liked tattoos I would go for something of more taste" he sniffed

"Sure. But then you'd be afraid of needles"

"What needles?"

"Muggle tattoos are done with needles, don't you know? Magical ones too. They use special inks that are sensitive to magic though and it's only after the tattoo it's done that they charm it to be brighter, everlasting and if you want to move or sparkle or whatever"

"How do you know?" the blond asked suspiciously. Surely wizards had less brutish ways to mark their skin?

"I had one done of course"

"You do?" the cousins asked together

"Yeah. I got my first for my fifteenth birthday and I'm planning another for my seventeenth" he answered casually

"What is it?" "Does it hurt?" "Where is it?" the two asked

Blaise arched an eyebrow amused "The family crest, depends on your pain tolerance and one of you will never see" The last part made Alya blush brightly and Draco scowl, much to his enjoyment.

"Enough of that" Draco said "Get your head out of the gutter and think about world domination!"

"Oi!" she complained "My head was not in the gutter"

"Of course not. As if you weren't mentally undressing Blaise trying to guess where his tattoo is" he said drily

She huffed and accioed a note pad and pen, ready to write a list of what she wanted to accomplish in that year and how to do it. Draco tried to read peering from the top, but she swatted his head away, still offended by his assumptions. That they were true or less it was another matter altogether.

* * *

The next morning all was quiet at breakfast. Lucius was still glaring daggers at her but either he was tired of losing their verbal sparring or someone, i.e. Narcissa, had warned him into silence.

Alya was unaffected though, she was full of ideas and excited to start implementing them after the previous night. Biting into a moist croissant, how she loved house elves, they had made the treats especially for her since she acquired a preference for them during her stay in Italy; she looked around the table, mentally debating her schedule for the day.

Finally reaching a decision she spoke "Rodophus, Rabastan; If you can join me in the infirmary after breakfast I'd like to take a look at you. The more you wait the longer your recovery time will be, not to mention difficult. We already have a decade of prison to deal with."

"Do we have to?" Rabastan whined like a child.

"Yes" she deadpanned "Or you prefer keeping company to Bella?" strangely enough she had not seen hair or hide of the woman since the second day of her stay. Was she so deadly afraid of her? She sure hoped so.

"I'll come" the man was quick to agree

"Good. Also, Fenrir, could I have some samples of your blood?"

"Depends. What do you plan to do with it?" he asked frowning. He was all for helping the little lady, but blood was blood. Too many things could be done with a person's blood, many of them not pleasant or legal.

"Oh, I just want to run some tests. I want to improve the wolfsbane or make a completely new potion that works better. I need to see how your blood reacts to it and other substances first and maybe try to isolate the werewolf gene." She rattled excited "Maybe I could even find a cure for lycanthropy for those that truly resent their condition!"

The man chuckled "Hold your hippogryffs little lady. One step at a time. And yes, you can have my blood. I can even ask some of the pack to submit theirs if you need more test subjects"

"That would be wonderful. Thank you so much!"

Voldemort looked on intrigued. It seemed that the girl was jumping head first into the bet and with high goals too. He had to admit he wouldn't be too upset if she managed to win, her ideals were good and should she really manage to invent such potions it would be greatly beneficial for their world. The magical world of Britain needed such creative minds and innovations.

Maybe if she won the bet and showed herself good enough, he would even offer her to work together. After all just because she was deluded into thinking she was his daughter, it didn't mean he couldn't overlook it and join their minds to reach the final objective.

"Seeing as she plans to hole herself in the lab all day, what are your plans Blaise?"

"I need to run some errands, Dray. Maybe if I finish early enough we can play some quidditch"

"Sure. What exactly do you need to do, though?"

"Family business" he replied shortly. Draco didn't need to know what it entailed.

"Draco, you should start studying for your NEWTs. You don't want that mudblood to come first once again, do you?" Lucius said snidely

"Of course , Father" he answered gritting his teeth

Alya rolled her eyes at Lucius, way to humiliate your son "Don't worry Dray I can pass you my notes… er, part of my notes. Plus we all know that the examiners are a bunch of light geezers that kiss Dumbledore's arse. They aren't going to mark you fairly" she said trying to lift his spirits and judging by the tiny smile she succeeded.

* * *

"Alright" she said after throwing her strongest diagnostic charms at the brothers "You both are awfully malnourished, with weak bones and your organs are threatening failure. I will supply you with three different potions to deal with these matters. You are to take them with every meal and also start eating little snacks all through the day. Nutrition potions are all good but you need actual intake of food to boost your energy and help along your body recovery."

"Alright" "That's not too bad"

"I'm not done" she said quickly putting a stop at their enthusiasm. 'How cute they thought they got away from a decade in Azkaban with so little' she thought

"What else?"

"Well.. You Rodolphus have a bad case of pneumonia, I'm honestly surprised you haven't hacked up a lung yet. I will put you on a strict potion regimen to deal with it. Rabastan shows signs of multiple head concussions " she said noticing his grimace "there is some swelling in the brain and it needs to be treated immediately lest something irreparable happens. You also have several hairline fractures in your body and some badly healed brakes. The worst ones I will have to vanish the bone and regrow it. Breaking it again would be too dangerous as we risk minuscule bone shards piercing the muscle or some artery"

"How wonderful" he deadpanned, not looking forward to that at all.

"Yeah, yeah. You will also take some anti-depression potions, they are not miraculous but help a little against the long exposure to dementors. You will need to see a mind healer to deal with the full damage though and I'm not sure you'll be comfortable enough to talk to me about it. Once you are physically healed I will give you some names and you can choose the one you prefer, they will not care that you are death eaters or escaped convicts"

"That's good. I'm not looking forward to seeing some mind healer but I'm sane enough to recognize we need it"

"Perfect. I will draw up a diet regimen so the elves can prepare your meals accordingly and supply the snacks. They will also deliver your potions timely and take your vitals for me every once in a while. I want to keep you under observation for the first days so if something unexpected comes up we can deal with it quickly. It is a slim possibility but sometimes the scans miss something hiding behind other maladies and it pops up once the rest is healed"  
She summoned the first potions they had to take and once they swallowed it all she send them off to rest.

* * *

Silent and keeping in the shadow he stalked his targets. He watched with steely eyes as the older of the two led the younger through the town to a small house that looked vandalized. Disillusioned with old spell that not even the old man could hope to sense or see through he followed them in.

Seeing the boy failing to even manage a civil conversation with the fat man that had hidden himself in a poor transfiguration of an armchair, he rolled his eyes and decided to take a look around. You never know what you can find in someone else's house after all. The walls were full of pictures of the man with young people who became someone important in life or were related to someone famous. So he was a collector of sorts, he would have to keep it in mind. He stopped, seeing the old man wandering around, probably waiting for the boy to charm the fat man so he could get him to do whatever he had in mind in exchange for another piece for his collection. How predictable.

Moving back to the living room he saw, just as he predicted, the old man convincing the other to go back to Hogwarts to teach. Potions, he heard. Well, at least he was a competent potion master.

Inwardly cheering he saw that the man was trying to hide his left hand, which looked blackened and decaying. Oh, how sweet. It seemed that whatever curse he activated was probably going to kill him soon, within the year at most judging from the heavy smell of death that lingered around him. His beloved would be happy to hear the news.

Deciding that he had seen enough he walked out of the house and went back home. He had a full day of work and should have been home a couple of hours ago, but one of his targets seemed to like playing hide and seek delaying him for a good while and when he had stumbled on the pair after that, he thought that he couldn't pass the chance to investigate.

Silently apparating away he briefly wondered what would there be for dinner. Thanks to being added to the wards he reappeared right into his, Alya's, bedroom and walked to the bathroom to wash off the dirt and grime of the day. A hot shower would also work wonders on his aching muscles.

Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice Alya laying on the bed, who was woken by the sound of his boots connecting with the marble floor of the room. She had been in the lab all day and had decided to take a little nap before dinner while waiting for him. The sight of her boyfriend dressed in black from head to toe in protective battle leathers and covered in blood startled her, but after a moment she could see that none of the blood was his and relaxed, deciding to wait for him in the dining room she left. If he wasn't ready to tell her his secret, she was willing to act as if nothing happened and wait for him to reveal it.

* * *

 **Thank you everyone for adding my story to your favorite or alert lists and for leaving a review. I look forward to hear how you liked those chapters!**


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